


To watch a burning world

by Avami



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: (I love everyone else too), Bittersweet, But they will suffer anyway, Crossover, Dream Smp, Dream Team SMP Spoilers, Dream is lonely boi, Everything Hurts, Except False, Gen, How Do I Tag, I love you False, I'm learning tags yay, Look at all these idiots, Lot of angry people, Minecraft Evo - Freeform, Most people are kind of rude, Probably a bit sad hopefully, Really fanon, Sapnap being Sapnap, Technoblade takes no shit, There is a muffin at one point, They are mortal enemies and brothers your honor, Watchers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:54:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 67,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28243512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avami/pseuds/Avami
Summary: Since the beginning of time three Watchers have supervised the world. But what happens when they want to experience being human and leave their positions? What happens when one of them is left alone and grows cold, angry and vengeful and decides to take away everything the others love? What happens when Dream decides he want to rule the world by himself?This story will be a crossover between the Hermicraft server and the Dream SMP following Dream as the main character. He is kind of evil and has some trouble. And he kinda wants to attack Hermitcraft and spill some blood. The boy has some issues he needs to work through, maybe he can learn love and friendship along the way though. Who knows? You do, if you read!
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 237
Kudos: 180





	1. Origins

**Author's Note:**

> I know you want to get into the story so I'll try to keep it quick.  
> I don't know what I'm doing, so bear with me.  
> Small disclaimer: The characters are in no way any indication to how these people are in real life. They are all wonderful people and this is just a work of fiction.  
> It will have references to the Dream SMP, the Hermitcraft series as well as Grians old EVO SMP (only a little though)
> 
> Oke, that's all! I hope you enjoy <3

It would be impossible to try to determine when the story began, because time didn't exist in the void. It began never and now and a million years from now. It didn't really matter when though, because everything was constant. Even if it began today or a thousand years ago, it would be the same. But that was about to change, and that's why it began at all. That was the event when time started to matter.

It's equally impossible to say where the story began. It was nowhere, yet everywhere. In another world, yet it was our own. It was a place outside of space and time which still was very much present. A place you wouldn't find no matter how much you looked. It was beautiful and terrible. Everything and nothing. Life and death and balance. 

What is safe to say is that the story started with three beings. Three spirits that resided in this place.  
They were boys at heart, wild and free. In their hearts they played, laughed and had not a single care in the world.  
They were leaders at mind, fearsome and imposing. They were clever and passionate and kind, devoted to the task they had been given.  
They were eternal at soul. They stood outside of time, never changing, always constant. Forever. Until now. 

They were the Watchers.

It was their duty to watch the world, govern and observe it. Usually they didn’t interfere, they let the humans in the world handle themselves. It was their world after all, their lessons to learn. But sometimes, just sometimes, a push in the right direction was necessary, and then the Watchers would step in and set the world on the right course again.

They had many names. Gods, creators, Yin and Yang. But they weren't any of that. They were Watchers. Nameless. And even though they in the eyes of a normal human were almighty, they didn’t use that power unless it was absolutely necessary.

To each other, they were as close as brothers, they were the only ones of their kind. Though they didn’t have names, they each had an essence and that became their titles. 

The first Watcher was Purple. He was the calmest of the three, in his heart kindness ruled. He had compassion and love for the humans. He could find beauty in anything and he protected life above all else.  


The second Watcher was Red. He was passion in its purest form, fierce and burning. He loved to build and marvelled in the creativity of humans. His fingers itched to create himself, to use his powers to bring something wonderful and new, something never seen before into reality.  


The third Watcher was Green and he was cleverness and ambition. His mind was sharper than any blade, and he longed to put that mind to use. For he grew tired of simply watching, he wanted to explore, learn and feel the world for himself. He wanted experience and he couldn’t get that if he only watched from the outside. 

They balanced each other out. Red and Green both wished to leave their positions, to go to the Earth, but Purple reminded them of the importance of their duty. So instead they created another world, a world that was their playground. With Red’s limitless imagination it slowly grew forward. Green added new elements that didn’t exist on the Earth, enchantments and monsters. Things that the humans in that world would have to overcome, to make sure only the strongest would live there. To make sure there was always room for improvement. But he also added logic, systems, a plan for how this world should work. Purple added limits to Green and Red’s ideas. He made the world livable and beautiful, he laced it with his magic and the spark of Life. They named this world Mojang.  


But over time all three of the Watchers grew tired of always being on the outside. And Purple began to falter in his devotion. So he created a place in Mojang, a place for people to live. He called it the Hermitlands.  


Seeing the love Purple had put into the Hermitlands, Green and Red softened. They loved each other, the three of them only had one another. But Purple loved the humans more, and he wished to meet the humans he loved so much. Even though Green and Red didn’t understand the love he had for humans, they decided that they wanted to give Purple what he longed for. And so, they let Purple go. They let him leave his duty as a Watcher. He left a part of himself - the magic part - in the void where they resided, for magic like theirs had no place in the outside world. And he travelled to Mojang, almost human. The Watchers could never visit Earth, but Mojang was their creation and it was their rules. Purple left to experience life as a human along the humans in Hermitland. 

Purple returned to the void about once a year in human time, but everytime he became less and less of a Watcher. He started to leave most of his memories along with his magic, only keeping the new memories he made as a human. He got friends, emotions and a life. With this new life, he had also created a name for himself. Xisumavoid. And Green and Red remained in the void, watching. 

Red was also working on a realm for himself. He was curious and wanted to experience what Purp- no Xisumavoid, had experienced. And then, he too was ready to leave the void. But he didn’t wait for Green's permission. He was impatient and impulsive and so he left without announcing it. He knew Green wished to leave too, but Green didn’t have the same talent for building as Red did. Neither did Xisuma, but he had spent a long, long time building his realm and slowly perfected it. Red feared that Green would try to leave before him, and therefore, he deceived Green. He left to his new land, which he had decided to call Evo, and just like Xisuma, he took a name. Grian. Despite leaving his magic, he kept his memories, should he ever want to return.

Green was furious that he had been deceived. Both at himself, for being so foolish, and Grian, for betraying his trust. Anger was a new feeling to him. And in his rage he cursed Grian’s new world. Evo was dragged backwards in time, forced to slowly work itself forward through puzzles and portals, and until the lands were back to the present day, Grian couldn’t return. Green felt an odd sense of satisfaction at this. He knew Grian didn’t feel the same love for the world and humans as Xisuma did, he had merely been curious and impulsive, and now he couldn’t return, he couldn’t change his mind. 

Green was left alone and he slowly changed, something he didn’t believe was possible before. After all, he was eternal, carved into stone. Without his brothers he had lost a grip on himself and he started to neglect the world he was supposed to watch. Why should he care for the world when his brothers had abandoned it? He was always the one who had wanted to leave. He was always the one who had longed for change, only to be held back by the others. And now they had left him for lives as humans. Despicable, weak humans, who were nothing compared to him. He was superior in every way, his mind was eternal and filled to the brim with everything you could ever know. So why? Why would they possibly want to be humans? Green was left alone with his dreams of another kind of life. A life in which he could leave, but keep his spiritform, where he could rule. Where he could grow and learn and use all that he knows. He was not arrogant enough to think that he knew everything. There is always more, it never ends. You can always get another experience.

In his misery Green started to turn away his eyes from the world and instead turned to Mojang. Xisuma had been careful when creating the Hermitlands, he had shielded his realm from Grian and Green, claiming it was something personal. Green couldn’t reach it, he couldn’t even watch it. He could only feel his brother's happiness. Grian however, had been too lost in the creation of his lands to bother thinking about protection. Green started to tamper with Grian’s lands, he left messages, punished people who upset him and played with the humans minds. He had nothing else to occupy himself with so he kept going until something changed. A presence made itself known in the void. Xisuma had returned for the year.

After getting an understanding of the situation Xisuma softened, he agreed to stay until the Evo lands had found their way to the present again. He apologised on Grian’s behalf for what he had put Green through, but he also tried to argue for Grian’s right to stay in Mojang. Grian had too learned to love it over time, it was obvious in his every action. He was happy as a human.  


Anger filled Green at that, an emotion now familiar to him after all this time. Xisuma wanted him to be alone. He knew Green wasn’t capable of creating a stable world so he wanted him to stay in the void alone. He wanted to drop all the responsibility of watching the Earth to Green.  
Now, Xisuma denied all this. He said he had learnt alot from humans and would use that knowledge to understand more when they watched. He said he would eventually come back to the void permanently and so would Grian, but they would gain more if they spent their time in Mojang for now. Green could see the lies in his eyes. How couldn’t he? No one knew lies as well as him. Xisuma probably believed them himself, because Green also knew that Xisuma loved him and didn’t want to hurt him. But it was obvious to Green. Purple no longer existed, he was now Xisuma, more human than not. He would not return, and the same probably applied to Grian. No more Red, no more Purple. But despite this knowledge, Green answered with a nod to Xisuma. He had a plan. He wouldn’t be held back while his brothers left him to rot in the void. Dropped him like he was nothing. 

So when Evo was in the present again Grian came back to the void. He apologised to Green, he said he’d been blinded and rash. Xisuma talked to Grian, and said he wanted to invite him to his world. That Grian could learn from being a normal human without the memories of being a Watcher. And Grian agreed. They left. 

Green watched them leave with a bittersweet fire burning in his heart. From the first time they left he knew that someday they would be so human that their magic and old memories wouldn’t be enough to drag them back. He had a growing suspicion that that day had come. They wouldn’t be back, which meant he was free. He got to work.

He knew how to build realms, but knowing and doing were two different things. He was good at many things, but building wasn’t one of them, but with unpracticed hands, he still managed to pull a world together. It took time, but he had plenty. No one ever came back to the void.  


The world wasn’t complete, it wasn’t peaceful and beautiful like Evo had been or like the Hermitland was. It was chaotic and wild, dangerous and shrewd, just like Green himself. He couldn’t access the Hermitlands from the void, but maybe, just maybe, he could find it by going to Mojang. He didn’t care for the humans, he didn’t care for anything. He was angry, betrayed and alone. He was prepared to leave the void behind him, his home, his prison for eternity, and any place was better. 

And so, with a vengeful heart, darkened by the years (in human time) he’d spent alone, he descended to Mojang to his new realm, the Land of Dreams. All while the Earth they were supposed to watch, long since forgotten by all of them, slowly began to fall apart without anyone supervising it.  
Green kept all his memories and some of his magic. He kept everything that he would need to build his kingdom and then take down his brothers’ now shared one. Here he would get revenge at his brothers for leaving him, for choosing humans over him. He was a Watcher, the most powerful being in the universe and he wouldn’t be put down. And now he wasn’t Green anymore. 

He was a human. He was a king. He was Dream.


	2. The Land of Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream tries to find his way in the Land of Dreams. He might also come across some new people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> Thank you so much for the kind comments and Kudos, you are wonderful!  
> This chapter is not as eventful as the first one, but I needed to set up a bit of a foundation for the events that will happen later on. This is only from Dream's perspective, don't worry though, the other Watchers will make an appearance very soon.  
> (Also the notes from the first chapter has disappeared, so if you're new, welcome, hello! Thank you so much for reading)  
> I hope you enjoy <3

The first thing he noticed was the wind. One of the perks of living in a place called the void is never having the icy wind chill you to the core. Dream rather liked it however, it reminded him of the fact that he didn’t know everything. He just gained a new experience. Unfortunately, it was also a reminder of how awful the planet life seemed to be. It was this, these chilling winds and grey skies that his brothers had left him for. This was worth more than him. 

The anger, now as familiar to him as his own steady heartbeat, burned through his veins and chased away the cold. This was good, he was finally in Mojang, in his lands. He could find a way to his brothers. Nothing held him back anymore. 

It hit him that neither Grian nor Xisuma would remember him. They had left their memories as Watchers, and that included their memories of him. Usually they would be called back once a year, but since they both left for the Hermitlands that last time they hadn’t been back. Maybe they didn’t need to, they had each other, they didn’t want their old life and memories. And Dream wasn’t enough for them to come back. 

He couldn’t wait to watch their precious kingdom burn to the ground.

* * *

Before he did anything else, Dream made up a story. He liked creating stories. They could be anything and everything. They could teach, deceive or comfort. Or all three at the same time. He had spent eternity watching human’s stories play out, to now create his own was exhilarating. 

He went for a simple story, those were often most effective. He was a soldier who had decided to settle down in the Land of Dreams a few weeks ago. There was no leader in the Land of Dreams, and chaos ruled, so he had come to restore order. He would be quick to act, to establish control and he would unite the scattered groups that dwelled around the land. He just needed a way in.

While he walked, he came across a lake, and for the first time he saw himself. He hadn’t really had a human body in the void, but when he descended to Mojang he must have unknowingly created one. After all, the form of the Watchers was nothing for human eyes to see.

His appearance mirrored his magic and himself quite well. His hair was dirty blond and unruly, some strands hung down over his brow. His nose was crooked and he had lots of freckles covering his face. A simple green hoodie and brown pants kept him warm. 

It was him. Bold and without order.

But the most noticeable thing was his eyes. He quickly realized that they could never be mistaken for human eyes. The magic he’d brought made his eyes shine vibrantly green in all shades imaginable. There wasn’t any black spots in them, the green iris instead formed a perfect circle, surrounded by milky white. His eyes were ever changing, constantly wandering between deep, forest green to bright neon and everything in between.

He held out his hand and a simple, white mask materialised in it. It had a simplistic smiley face drawn on it. He’d have to hide his eyes. It pained him to hide his power, what made him superior, but it was necessary. For now he needed to belong, he needed to find a way to the Hermitlands, and the easiest way to do that was by getting information and people on his side.

Unfortunately though, he continued getting distracted by the simplest things. All the new impressions were overwhelming him. Both from the world, and the experience of being human. 

It was awful.

Dream didn’t understand how people could enjoy this life. To feel hungry and tired was a pain, it disturbed him until he ate or slept, which took a long time. Humans already had limited time, and they needed to spend so much of it tending to their body. A nuisance, truly. As a Watcher he had never needed food, rest or water. He just was. Eternal. Constant. Above every human need. 

But at the same time - though he wouldn’t admit it - he was in wonder. He saw everything from a new perspective. He could feel the grass, taste water and know what exhaustion felt like. He could fill himself with new impressions for the first time in… Well since he first experienced anger. Time wasn’t present in the void. And now he felt something other than anger, something tingling and warm that he didn’t want to acknowledge. 

So he pushed it down.

* * *

He was looking for people. That was the first task. He had created the realm, given life to what was previously dead, he knew it like his own pocket. But he hadn’t created the people. They had either been there before, or been taken there and given new memories. 

He didn’t know what to expect from them, and even though that too was a new experience, he wasn’t worried. He knew himself, and he knew what he was capable of. These humans were nothing compared to him. He was smarter, stronger, faster than all of them. He had seen everything there was to possibly see and he knew he could handle whatever was thrown at him.

What he didn’t expect though was that he would be ambushed.

An arrow flew past him, narrowly missing his shoulder as he stepped to the side. It was intended to harm, not to kill. Anger flared through him as he scanned the surroundings and jumped into action. How dare they attack him. With some quick steps he ran towards a tree where the arrow had emerged from.

The attacker used a bow and arrow, which probably meant that they weren’t too skilled in hand to hand or close combat, so it was fine that he didn’t have a weapon. He scaled the tree only to see the attacker jump down into the soft grass. He was about to follow when a strong hand grabbed his hoodie and dragged him backwards, making him lose his balance.

Dream fell onto the ground with a pained groan. Magic flowed through him, quickly healing eventual injuries and he rose to his feet with his fists up. The sleeves of his hoodie fell down to expose his arms, while he prepared for the next attack.

He was now face to face (or face to mask) with both his attackers who watched him warily. They were both boys, shorter than him. 

One of them had black hair and eyes, with a white bandana tied around his head. He stood slightly in front of the other in a defensive stance with a sharp sword in hand. It was a sword that had seen blood. He wore a heavy chestplate of iron. The boy had a confident almost relaxed expression, but Dream could see that he was analyzing everything he saw. 

The other one was slightly shorter and had the bow in hand. He had wild brown hair, poking out from under big round glasses. His brown eyes never left Dream, but he didn’t seem aggressive anymore. Unlike the other, he didn’t have armor, save for some well worn leather boots. They probably made it easier for him to move around in the trees.

Dream slowly lowered his hands. These boys were fighters, that was good, he could use them. He needed allies. 

The boys seemed to be speaking silently with each other, before one of them - the shorter one - stepped forward and pushed down the other’s sword. He ignored the disapproving glance sent his way and focused on Dream.

“I apologize, we thought you were an associate with L’manburg,” he said.

Dream considered this, “How do you know I’m not?” He figured L’manburg were one of the many factions fighting for control in the lands.

Both boys looked at him like he was stupid.

“You don’t have their mark,” The black haired one said while gesturing carelessly with his sword. He almost hit the other one who made an indignant noise. “Every citizen of L’manburg has a tattoo on their forearms.”

“I see. Well I’m new in the area and aren’t familiar with the different groups here. I’m a mercenary from the north. Name’s Dream.”

The boys glanced at each other again and the shorter one advanced a few steps more. After a brief pause, he reached out his hand and met Dream's eyes - well, Dream's mask - with a steady look.

“A pleasure. We could always use one sword more, should you want a place to stay. I’m George”

“Sapnap,” the black haired man interjected with a lazy grin.

Dream saw his chance. This was a way in, a start. He could be patient. Going after his brothers would have to wait. At least until he had established himself. He extended his hand and shaked it with George’s.

It was time to get to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're at the bottom!  
> Thank you so much for reading this chapter, you are a supremely cool person.
> 
> The next chapter will probably be out later today or tomorrow. I really like the next one, it explores another character more and I can't wait for you to read it.
> 
> Again, thank you for the support! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.
> 
> Until next time!


	3. A World Slowly Dying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xisuma returns to the void only to find it empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, two chapters in a day!  
> This chapter is a bit more progressing than the last!  
> Enjoy <3

Xisuma had always been the attentive one among the three, the one who knew when they needed to put the Earth back on course. There was a simple reason for that, and that was because he cared. He cared about the humans in a way his brothers didn’t. So it was only expected that he would be the one to notice the shift in the universe. Something had happened.

Now, Xisuma didn’t remember anything. And he hadn’t been to the void for many years now. But this shift stirred something deep within him. 

He was called back.

What met him in the void was emptiness. Nothing. Usually that is what one would expect from a void, but Xisuma had prepared for something else. He’d prepared for Green to meet him there, probably furious, but Xisuma would make him understand. He would make him see how good it was that they knew about the life of the humans first hand.

Xisuma didn’t find Green though. He found a crumbling world. He found Earth, on the brink of chaos. And he simply watched. It had been a long time since he’d watched. He could fix it, he could use his powers to save the planet from himself. After all, that was his duty. But he didn’t. Instead he turned away from the dying Earth and looked towards Mojang. He had a duty towards Mojang too, right? There were humans he needed to watch and protect there too. If he used his powers on Earth now, he’d have to stay in the void to watch how it turned out. The use of magic tended to make Earth unstable for a while. The humans would need time to mend the holes his magic caused in their view of the world. To rationalize it, like humans always do. 

And that was the very problem. Because Xisuma had been a human for too long, and he too had learnt to rationalize. He didn’t want to stay as a Watcher, he wanted to go down to Mojang, to the Hermitlands and forget this wretched place. 

So he rationalized away the slowly dying Earth. Why wasn’t Green here to watch it anyways? Xisuma had said that Grian and himself would be back, so where was Green? How could he have left?

His eyes scanned the void until he found something. And oh, how he wished he hadn’t seen it. 

A protective bubble of magic swiveled above Mojang. And no matter how long Xisuma had been human, he couldn’t rationalize this. Green had left. Green had managed to create a place in Mojang. And he wasn’t returning. None of the Watchers was.

What worried Xisuma the most was that Green’s memories weren't in the void. Which meant he still had them. Xisuma knew his brother. He could guess what had happened, and he knew, yes he knew, that it was his fault that Green had left. What Xisuma didn’t know however, was that he had been selfish. And he still was. He chose the humans over his brother, yes. But in doing so, he also chose himself before his brother. He wanted to be the one living in Mojang. He wanted to leave the responsibility to someone else. To Green. But it was all too easy to simply rationalize these thoughts away. Because he was human.

And Grian, he had seen Grian learn to love the world. Grian had friends, he had a life, he was happy. Xisuma saw that, and he didn’t want to take that from him. He saw how very alive Grian was. Grian deserved that life, he deserved to build, laugh and love. To do everything that made him happy. Green had to know that their Red brother would be miserable if he ever returned to the void. His soul was wild. So no, Green had been selfish, Xisuma reasoned. 

Purple would have argued that Green’s soul was wild too, just as Grian’s. That Green craved freedom just as much as the other two. But Purple didn’t exist anymore, instead he had become a human. A human who argued that Green should have stayed in the void, because if that was all he knew, he could never miss life as a human. Green despised humans, he didn’t care for them. It was selfish of him to leave. Couldn’t he understand that Xisuma and Grian were far too intertwined in human life to leave it? Couldn’t he see that they loved it? Couldn’t he, in his love for his brothers, let them go? No, Green had been selfish, he should have done the right thing towards Xisuma and Grian. Stayed in the void. Because that’s what brothers do, they care, they sacrifice for each other. That’s family. Right?

He threw a last look at the Earth, and just like Dream, he abandoned it. He had new people to care for, Mojang needed him. But this time, he kept some of his memories. But that was not all he took. He looked at the red sphere of magic that was Grian’s. 

Grian shouldn’t get involved. It was so much easier if it was only Xisuma who talked to Green. Grian would be a risk, he might try to stand with Green. Really, Xisuma would do Grian a favor by keeping him out. He wouldn’t have to face Green’s anger, he wouldn’t have to worry about the Earth and if Green could manage it himself. He wouldn’t have any reason to abandon Xisuma and the Hermitlands.

Because deep down Xisuma was afraid. He didn’t want to leave his brothers behind him, but someone had to watch. But if Grian lived in Mojang, he wouldn’t be alone. They would at least be near each other. And even if Grian had moved on and gotten friends of his own, even if they didn’t remember each other, they would always be family. 

Green didn’t belong in their world. He had no love for the life they lived. He only cared about himself, and experiences. It was reasonable that he would be the one who stayed in the void.

So Xisuma approached the red sphere and reached his hand out. And he took Grian’s memories. With some of his magic he enclosed his brother's memories in a bottle of glass, and put it in his pocket. It was safer this way. Without the memories calling him, Grian wouldn’t find his way back to the void, but that was okay. He didn’t need to come back.

Xisuma would do his duty to the Earth, he would find Green and convince him that the Earth needed him. But he himself wouldn’t go back. He had a new world now, and no matter how much he loved Green, there was no place for him in it. The Earth needed a Watcher and it wouldn’t be Xisuma, that much he was certain of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter finished, and stuff is about to go down.  
> Thank you so much for reading, please reward yourself with a cookie!
> 
> Tomorrow my country celebrate Christmas, and I will spend time with my family and probably not write. But you can expect the next chapter a few days from now!
> 
> Love you, be safe and merry Christmas if you celebrate it!


	4. Chaos is the natural order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream is angry, Sapnap has a death wish and George tries to help. also, maybe they're beginning to find a way to the Hermits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I hope you who celebrate christmas had a good christmas, and if you don't, I hope you've had a good time with people you love!
> 
> I've been having some trouble with these notes, it seems like some of the notes from the first chapter has been relocated to the third one, and I don't know how to change it. Anyone got any ideas?
> 
> Well, without further ado, happy reading! <3

Usually, Dream was really good at keeping his thoughts and feelings hidden. He could rage, scream or even break down on the inside (not that he ever would break down), but for an outsider, he would be the epitome of a collected person.

That, of course, would be a big misconception because Dream wasn’t ever collected, just as much as he wasn’t a person. He was so much more. The word person didn’t even begin to cover it. He was a Watcher, stuck in this weak body. Stuck on this wretched planet and in this kingdom, which wasn’t the one he sought to be in.

And he wanted to make it very clear to the humans around him that he was extremely discontented about it. Which is why he now let his feelings show. And what a show it was. Anger wasn’t the only thing he showed, he also pulled out a bit of the chaos boiling within him. His associates should be grateful that the mask hid the look on his face, while he paced around the room restlessly. 

Ponk and Punz had hurried out the room when they had started to physically feel the pressure Dream’s anger created. He had loosened the grip he had on himself a bit, and his magic flowed around the room, pulsing in sync with his beating heart, which created an ominous effect, enough to scare anyone.

And yes, George was scared, but he stayed anyways. Sapnap, on the other hand wasn’t scared, although he probably should be, he was just fascinated and wanted to see how far he could take this situation before Dream snapped. 

By now it was obvious to both men that Dream wasn’t a normal soldier like he first had claimed when they met him three weeks ago. He had immediately taken charge and demanded a raid on the clan closest to them after just a few days in camp.

He was a good talker, he knew how to rally the forces. He lured them with promises of new territory and more members to their faction, of glory and victory. The clan he wanted to attack was chosen wisely, it was called the Badlands and was small with a weak defense. They took it easily and just like that, confidence flared through the members. They had done it, they had expanded their territory. Why should they stop there? Dream had shown them that they could conquer, Dream had led them to victory. Why hadn’t they tried to take over before? They had power, enough people to fight and they were one of the biggest clans. Only L’manburg could compare to them in numbers or skills. 

And so, with Dream in the lead, they expanded their territory. All members of the clans they attacked were given the choice to join them or be cast out into the night without any armor, weapons or food. And Dream’s forces slowly claimed every bit of the Land of Dreams. 

Almost every bit.

Because one region refused to surrender, they refused to bow down. L’manburg. They hid behind their walls and lived through every attempt at conquering them. Which is exactly why Dream was mad. How could he move on with his plan, how could he find the Hermitlands if he didn’t have his own nation in order? It had become an obsession. He would not fall behind his brothers, his nation would survive, would thrive, and theirs would crumble. They would watch from the void while he remained free. 

The only thing currently standing in the way of this, was L’manburg. A small group of humans who just wouldn’t surrender. What bothered him the most was their annoying habit of enduring. They would hurt, fall and break, but they still rose up and put themselves together again. It was truly frustrating. 

“Hey, you wanna fight?”

Sapnap’s voice broke through his thoughts and made him stop his pacing. He turned towards the younger just in time to see George elbow him in the side. Sapnap yelped and scurried away from George, who turned to Dream with a calm look in his eyes. George tried his best to hide it, but Dream could see the uncertainty and fear hiding behind that look, and he reluctantly acknowledged a feeling of respect for the other, who despite the fear stood his ground. Who stayed. 

“What Sapnap means is that we’re here to help. We’re your allies. You won’t be able to take any rational decisions while you feel like punching everyone you see in the face, so you should punch Sapnap, to let off some steam,” George said. He knew that something was off about Dream, but it wouldn't give anything to ask right now. The best course of action would be to get Dream to calm down, preferably by getting him into a fight with Sapnap. That would kill two birds with one stone, and if their secretive leader wished to explain the pressure that appeared in the air every time he got too angry, or why he always had the mask, then he would do so.

“Excuse you, George, I could totally take him in a fight,” Sapnap protested with crossed arms. “It’s easy, just rip off his mask and he’ll probably die.”

Now Dream knew that Sapnap was trying to make him angry. He knew that everyone had learned quite quickly that talking about his mask was a bad idea. He knew that this was Sapnap’s way of helping him. But he also knew that if he fought the other one right now, he would probably end up killing him by accident. So instead he did something he hated. He took a deep breath and composed himself. He reigned in his magic as much as he could. If he could have had his own way, he would have let it rage and burn. He wouldn’t have kept it under check. He would have released his chaos.

But that would have to wait.

Instead he turned away from the men and said, “If I didn’t need all of my generals healthy and unharmed right now you would be six feet under.”

Sapnap laughed. “Aww, you care.” He cooed obnoxiously. “George, you hear that? he won’t kill me, looks like I’m the favorite now.”

“Sapnap, I’m actually going to murd-”

“I need you to tell me everything you know about what’s east of our lands,” Dream said.

The others stopped and the book George just threw hit Sapnap’s head, before falling down onto the floor. They glanced at each other. Both boys knew Dream wanted to go east, but they didn’t know what he was after there. “East? I thought you wanted to wait going east until we had taken L’manburg,” George said.

“I did, originally. But Eret has their trust, all we have to do now is wait for the right moment,” Dream replied. He despised waiting. Especially since he couldn’t do anything right now. Either this would succeed and Eret would take them down from the inside, or it would fail and they would have to start all over again. He might as well start to find a way to his brothers, maybe he would be less tense if he had something else to do than simply wait. For the last few days there had been radio silence from Eret, and earlier today, the leaders of L’manburg had tried to negotiate with him. As if he would accept anything other than them on their knees.

“Well, we don’t have much information about the east,” Sapnap said. “We suspect there is something or someone there, because every time anyone has tried to cross the ocean towards the east, they have been unable to make it to the other side.”

“Yeah, it’s like a barrier preventing us from crossing the ocean, it’s weird,” George added. “But we’ve never bothered to try ourselves, it’s a death sentence in most cases. Ships breaking and sinking for no discernible reason. We’ve seen the bodies washed up on our shore. The people living there are probably more magically advanced than us.”

Dream pondered this. It wasn’t hard to figure out what this barrier was. He had created this world, he knew there was no way that normal humans could create something like that, even with enchantments. No, this was the protecting magic his brother had placed around the Hermitlands when he first created them. Dream wouldn't be able to break through, even with the magic he had brought with him. This was a shield created by a Watcher at their strongest. He, in his human body with only parts of his magic, could never break that. There was always another way though. He just had to find it. It didn’t matter how long it took, how hard it was going to be, how many people he needed to send to their graves the important thing was that in the end, his brothers would-

“If you really want to go there, there is another way though,” Sapnap said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, but it’s suicide,” George added. “And as far as we know, no one has tried it, so it isn’t guaranteed to work.”

“No but it’s up to him, depending on how desperate he is.”

“You’re acting like we won’t join him.”

Dream was perplexed. How did humans figure out a solution before he did? They were humans for crying out loud, the most unobservant species in all of the worlds. Except for maybe wombats. “You don’t have to join me, just explain to me how to get there and I can handle it myself.”

“That’s ridiculous, of course we’ll come with you,” Sapnap said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

George nodded. “Someone needs to keep an eye on you so you don’t get yourself into stupid situations, heaven knows what you’re after in the east.” 

Dream felt irritation rise up. “You don’t think I can take care of myself? I assure you, I can.” How arrogant of them, they had seen him fight, win and conquer time and time again during the last weeks. Granted, they were both skilled fighters, but neither of them even came close to him in skill.

“Of course you can. We’re not worrying about you, we’re worrying about the eventual people you meet in the east that you will try to attack for no other reason than that they looked at you too long,” Sapnap said while George snickered.

Were they mocking him? Probably, but for some reason he wanted to laugh with them. Why? Sapnap insulted him, and yet he wasn’t really angry. If a stranger had said something even remotely similar to him, he would have struck them down with his axe immediately. But now he didn’t. Had he grown soft? He couldn't. He would not grow close to these people. To Sapnap who’s loud laugh reminded him of another time, a time he spent with Grian. Or to George, who's caring nature sometimes made him hear Xisuma's voice. A time when he was happy, when he loved his brothers. No these two definitely weren’t his brothers, and they wouldn’t be his friends.

He decided it wasn’t worth the energy to argue with them further. “You can come if you want to, but if you get in the way between me and my prey, then I will not hesitate to attack you as well, understand? So, where is this way?”

George and Sapnap both jumped up and looked way too happy for two people who were just threatened. “It’s a bit hard to explain, but basically it’s through another dimension, parallel to this one,” Sapnap said.

“And before you protest or call us crazy,” George interjected, “we have been there before. It’s truly horrible. We will have to walk for a while, but our old portal should still stand. This dimension is called the Nether and the distance in our world is shortened there. It’s basically a shortcut.”

“And the barrier might not be there, because, like we said: another dimension. We can just go east and get out on the other side of the barrier,” Sapnap said. 

Dream had a hard time comprehending this. It wasn’t possible, he was there when the world was created, there was no other dimensions. How was this one created? Had one of his brothers created it in secret? Or was it a byproduct of the world, unknown to even the Watchers? Was that even possible? He couldn’t detect any lies in Sapnap’s or George’s faces. They had to be telling the truth. Dream felt the grip he had previously gained on his emotions beginning to slip. He didn’t stop it. He wanted to let the chaos out, that made everything easier. Order was tedious, boring and predictable, but this. This new dimension was a twist of chaos. He was excited. Not only had he gained a new way to his brothers, he had also gained new information. He couldn’t remember ever being surprised before now.

“Well, I believe you,” he answered. His magic was swirling and his eyes were shining so bright that it was a miracle the other men didn’t pick up on it through the mask. 

“Now let’s head east.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You did it, GOOD JOB!  
> Feedback is always appreciated, the next chapter will be up tomorrow or the day after that if everything goes to plan.
> 
> Uh, I think that's all I want to say except thank you so much for reading!  
> I love you! Until next time <3


	5. A Journey to Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for bonding time with the boys in hell!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time to visit hell, can we have a pogchamp!
> 
> It's also time for me, keeping up the habit of always posting chapters when it's late! I don't know what time it is where you live, but here it's quite late, and I should really finish chapters earlier before I get too tired, because that's not good you know.
> 
> ALSO: This chapter is in no way indicated to ship the characters, all eventual signs of shipping is just bros being bros
> 
> Well, happy reading about Dream going through a minor personality crisis <3

Before they could depart there were a few things they needed to take care of. Well, that Dream needed to take care of. He needed to alert people that they were leaving, choose a temporary leader, give people glares that promised a painful death when anyone dared to ask where they were headed or why they left so suddenly, and in the middle of a war on top of that. This was the part of leading that Dream absolutely despised. He was chained down. He couldn’t leave without having to see to every little situation so that the nation wouldn't collapse in his absence. That was one of the main reasons he had offered Eret a crown in exchange for his loyalty in the war. He betrayed L’manburg, and he became the king of the Dreamlands. It was perfect really. Dream got rid of the annoying rebellion, and he had a puppet who followed his every order, and would lead the country for him. Yes he would be in charge, but pulling strings from the background, just as he liked.

But for now, he was the king. 

He sent George and Sapnap to go packing for their journey while he located Punz to inform him that he was the temporary leader. Preferably, he would have left George or Sapnap or both in charge, but since they accompanied him that wasn’t possible. He could have ordered one of them to stay (probably George because he was more diplomatic) but he wanted to have both of them with him. It felt more calming, in a strange way. He would have to look into that feeling later.

When everything was settled they left, under the cover of the night they rode away on three horses. The journey was silent, them having agreed that they should travel quickly and quietly to avoid getting stopped by eventual robbers. Dream found that he was not as happy about the silence as he thought he would be. He rarely had a silent moment with these two, except when he was strategizing (they seemed to have a scarily accurate ability to tell when he was focused and needed the silence), and he realized that he missed their conversations and bickering. How absurd. Previously he would have relished in the silence. He sighed and adjusted his weapons belt that hung over his usual green hoodie, spending the rest of the ride grumbling over this unwelcome change he was experiencing. 

After about half an hour they reached the opening of a cave. Dream looked around at their surroundings, a bunch of trees without leaves and bushes full of sharp thorns, with no paths visible. They were seemingly in the middle of nowhere and he briefly wondered how George and Sapnap had found their way back here.

Sapnap had jumped off his horse and started to tie its reins to a tree, giving it much room to move around. “We need to leave the horses here, they wouldn’t survive on the other side of the portal.”

“They might get attacked by wolves if we just leave them tied here though,” Dream said.

“Nah, don’t worry. There aren’t any wolves here. It’s a dead place, always been. We think that the portal is draining this place of life.”

“Yeah, it’s scary. We found it like this a few years ago.” George looked around while removing the saddle of his horse. “Take your saddles by the way, we’ll probably need them in the Nether.” 

“Why would we need saddles?” Dream said. Were there animals in this dimension? Didn’t the others say it was a horrible place, where animals didn’t live?

“You’ll see,” was the only answer he received. He hated being kept in the dark, he hated not knowing. With quick fingers he removed the saddle from the horse and threw it over his shoulder. George headed towards the opening of the cave and he followed close behind. After a few minutes of walking through the caves, they came across what Dream assumed to be the portal. It was a tall thing. Dark, thick obsidian forming an oval. The obsidian looked as if it could cut through skin with its rough, uneven surface. The portal itself was a dark purple, it swirled and danced, hypnotisingly. It emitted a small amount of light which created a cool glow on the men’s faces. The obsidian was embedded in the stone and around it dark veins spread, like the portal was a disease spreading through the cave.

Dream simply observed it with a stoic face, feeling the glances the other two threw his way. “You can stop staring, I won’t try to stab the portal or something if that’s what you’re worrying about.”

His comment was met with silence. He turned to look at George who stood to his left, only to see him staring back with wide eyes and twitching lips. With a glance backwards he could confirm that Sapnap had a similarly stunned expression.

“What?”

“You just made a joke! Oh heavens, George, he actually joked,” Sapnap exclaimed. “Maybe he isn’t a hopeless case.”

“Yeah, it was a really bad joke, but it’s a start,” George agreed, looking like he had stumbled upon a hidden treasure. “I started to think you were some kind of humorless fighting machine. Looks like you’re human after all, we can work with this. You will have a sense of humor in no time!”

Human? Did he say human? He wasn’t human. He didn’t joke. He just tried to match their speech. Why he did it, he wasn’t sure, it just felt right. And to his annoyance, seeing them smile because of it felt right too. This was definitely wrong. He looked between them, irritation clear on the visible lower half his face, it only egged them on. They alternated between looking at each other like children who had found their parents hidden candy stash, or at him with smug looks and mischievous giggles. He wouldn’t deign to reply to them, and he was too proud to admit that he couldn’t figure out a response that didn’t involve threats, so instead he simply walked towards the portal without looking back. Behind him he could hear the others scurry to follow, while between their breathless giggles trying to push out words.

He suppressed his angry thoughts and stepped into the portal.

It was like stepping into ice. It was cold, oh so cold, and he reflexively opened his mouth to gasp. No air reached him however, and he desperately tried to fill his lungs to no avail. His head was spinning and his vision went black. Suddenly he was on the ground, his luggage slipping out of his hands. He grasped at the stone under his fingers and just as suddenly as the cold had come, it disappeared. Intense heat replaced it. As he was gasping for air, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, pulling him up from the warm ground and steadying him. His knees buckled and the person grasped one of his arms to throw it over their shoulders while gripping tight around his waist. Dream found himself leaning heavily against the person while he took a few deep breaths of suffocatingly hot air before wearily gazing at his surroundings. All he could see was red. Red stone, red trees and red lava. The sky was gone and replaced with a roof of stone in a deep, bloody crimson. What was this place? This wasn’t something he or his brothers would ever create, they created beautiful, peaceful, imaginative places. Not this… this hell. But this was a world they created, one of them had to be the creator of this realm.

A silhouette moved in before his eyes, a wonderfully not red silhouette. Sapnap’s worried eyes met his mask, desperately trying to gauge how he felt by only his mouth and jaw. That would mean that it was George who he currently leaned against. Neither of them seemed to have reacted this way. He wouldn't be the weak one. He tried to stand up by himself, but his legs were still unsteady and George tightened his grip around him. 

“You should take it easy, it’s just a side effect of the portal, it will wear off soon,” Sapnap said kindly. “We could have explained this to you if you hadn’t rushed in without warning, idiot.”

Dream skipped contemplating the insult. “You don’t… This isn’t affecting you?” What a way to point out the obvious, he couldn’t remember ever being at a loss for words like this. He was having many new experiences lately, only a few of them good ones.

“We’ve done it before, we can feel it, but it’s easier to disregard for us,” George said.

Sapnap bent down to pick up the saddle and the bag Dream had dropped, and when George had made sure Dream wouldn’t fall again, he moved away and let Sapnap hand Dream the luggage. 

“C’mon,” Sapnap said while motioning towards the lava pool where strange, two legged, creatures were waddling. “We need to go get us some Striders. They will carry us over the lava.”

He moved towards the lava lake and George waited for Dream to follow him before going last. Dream had a strong suspicion that George wanted to make sure Dream wouldn’t accidentally topple into the lava and he wasn’t sure whether to feel offended at the lack of trust George seemed to have in him, or grateful that George actually cared, because he and Sapnap had one hell of an opportunity to just shove him into the fire and leave. They didn’t though. Instead, Sapnap went around picking up weird looking mushrooms while George pulled out three fishing rods from his backpack which left Dream wondering how the hell they had fitted in there.

They moved towards the abnormal creatures on the lava and held out the mushrooms towards them. The creatures slowly approached them and right before they could grab the mushrooms, the two men placed the saddles on their backs and removed the mushrooms. They turned to Dream with expectant looks and he hurried to do the same. He did it with the practiced ease of someone who’s confident in their own abilities, and grabbed the fishing rod George held out to him. After a brief explanation on how to control the Striders, they were off. 

The men had explained before that compasses didn’t work in the Nether, but they just had to head in the same direction as they would in the overworld, and so their travels began. 

Dream was fascinated by this new dimension, it was something new, totally unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was dead, horrifying and withering, surprisingly alike the classical depiction of hell that humans had created. He, of course, knew that the afterlife wasn’t anything like the humans imagined it. But this place. It was almost identical to their fairytale. Although it had some differences, some semblance of beauty. They travelled past red and blue forest, with vines growing up from the ground towards the roof, with small sources of light hidden under the thick shroud that acted as leaves on the trees. They passed by dark soil with blue fires sparkling fiercely. And at one point, they even found a building of red bricks towering up from the lava, looking like it was integrated into the landscape, natural. Dream had many thoughts about this place, many impressions and ideas. But the most prominent one, the one which had been there since he first entered the portal, was annoyingly stuck in his head, demanding his attention; Grian would have loved this place. It was pretty much untouched, a blank canvas for his creative brother to transform into something spectacular. But he didn’t want to think of his brother, he didn’t want to feel the memories of old times burn through his mind. So he ignored the thought as much as he could. 

After a while of travelling they saw something in the distance. A build and a glimpse of purple. Another portal. It wasn’t built by them, it had to have been built by the Hermits. Were they aware of the Nether? Had his brothers been aware of it as Watchers? Why would they keep it from him? How hadn’t he noticed it when they built Mojang together? 

Sapnap and George soon spotted the portal too. They were both excitedly jumping up and down on their striders, well, as much as possible at least. They had never been this far into the Nether, and they had certainly never seen any trace of another human being there. The three quickly went to the shore and got off the striders. They removed the saddles and carefully climbed up to the portal. 

And Dream knew that despite what they’d just gone through, what waited for them on the other side of that portal was the real hell. It was his hell. Because that place had taken his brothers from him, that place had taken everything from him. It had made him like this. Reduced him to vengeance and anger. That was hell, but he was going to handle it like he did all things. He would conquer it. 

Hell was nothing to him. He would prove that he was so much worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> Was it good? Did you enjoy it?  
> All feedback is massively appreciated, it makes my day when someone comments. (Seriously i almost cried when i got my first comment, you guys are really kind and it helps keeping me motivated)  
> Constructive criticism is also amazing!
> 
> I'm really exited for the next chapter, there will be a new POV and I love writing that character.
> 
> Oke, I'll see you next chapter (like tomorrow or the day after) I love you, have a nice day/night/morning/evening!


	6. Watch for Eyes that Glow in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brothers are finally reunited and Dream is as expected really mad and out for blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was really hard to write, because there is so many characters, personalities and motives. I actually had to split this chapter into two parts because when I reached three thousand words and still wasn't done I realized that it was too much for one chapter. Luckily it was easy to find a place to split the chapter.
> 
> Also, there is a POV change in the middle of this chapter, I hope it makes sense.
> 
> So I hope you enjoy and I see you at the bottom <3

**Grian's POV**

Now Grian wasn’t stupid. He knew something was off. The air was practically vibrating with tension when three unknown men stepped into the mayor's building in the early morning. They were really dramatic about it too, each fully stacked with weapons and armor, approaching in a formation that put the masked one in the middle a bit in front of the others. Grian didn’t disapprove though, he was never opposed to some dramatics. He even liked to think of himself as a person with a certain talent for dramatic entrances and exits. He understood their importance. Therefore, he couldn’t other than admire and silently praise the wonderfully dramatic entrance the three men currently executed. He should take some notes.

Grian himself was there to discuss the Mycelium Resistance with the mayor, Scar. A movement started by him to save the patches of mycelium still left in the Shopping District where the mayor resided. Despite his flair for drama, he would appreciate it if he could continue the Resistance without starting a full blown war. War was tedious business, he’d learned through the years, and he prefered to start them only when he was sure he could win. He had brought his friend Mumbo Jumbo as a buffer, because Grian was quite self aware, and he knew that if he’d come alone, he would have probably accidentally blown up the mayor’s house or offended Scar (both of which could be done at the same time) or something along those lines. Therefore Mumbo was there, because he had more experience than most Hermits with Grian’s shenanigans. And even if he couldn’t always stop them, he was an excellent moral support since he knew better than anyone how Grian’s pranks were. A peaceful patron of the Mycelium Resistance.

But now these men had interrupted the negotiations, which might be good considering things were about to escalate into burying the mayor in Mycelium to “convert him”. It was quite clear to Grian that the newcomers weren’t from the Hermitlands, first off: he didn’t recognize any of them as people he had pranked, and he had a particularly good memory when it came to pranks. He had pranked almost every citizen in the Hermitlands at least once. Second: Their equipment looked torn, rustic and uneven. Not like the well made equipment they sold in the Shopping District. And third: They looked dangerous, hostile. All the Hermits were currently on good terms with each other save the small disagreement between the Mycelium Resistance and the Hermit Environmental Protection, also called H.E.P. These three looked vicious.

Grian turned around to fully take them in and they stopped a few meters in front of the diamond throne. While the two people in the back were turned towards Scar, the one in the middle wasn’t. He had a mask covering the top of his face, making it impossible to see his eyes, but his body and head was turned entirely towards Grian. His posture was incredibly tense - the man should relax more. He opened his mouth to speak (there was a terribly awkward atmosphere in the room. Dramatic entrances sometimes had that effect if not met with an equal dramatic response), but before he could get a word out an arrow whizzed through the room. It hit the masked man’s calf. But he didn’t scream, he didn’t even make a sound. He just stumbled and dropped to his knees, turning his head to look at the person who fired the arrow, his mouth in a thin line.

And across the hall, bow still raised, Xisumavoid stared back at him with somber eyes that glowed eerily purple.

**No specific POV**  
Dream had tried to prepare as much as possible. He had given George and Sapnap a quick explanation about what he was after before they went through the portal. They had dropped all unnecessary packing in a small cave in the nether where they would be safe from monsters. He had told them that he was looking for two people who had tried to escape a debt and that he in retaliation intended to wreak havoc in their home. He had told them to, at his signal, go and pillage and ruin as much as possible. They were free to harm, but shouldn’t aim to kill. These people would as all others he had attacked get a choice. Stand beside him or die. Not at his hand, but a slow, painful death, natural if you will, like to the monsters in the night. He would gladly see his brothers’ faces as the people they had chosen instead of him suffered.

So he was prepared. When he moved into the mayor's building, he was prepared. When he saw Grian stand at the foot of a giant chair of diamond, he was prepared. What he wasn’t prepared for was the look Grian gave him when he turned around. Curious, slightly amused, but most importantly: the look of a stranger. He didn’t remember. Dream had thought that maybe the sight of him, the presence of his magic, would call at least some of Grian’s memories back. Give him some sense of recognition. But his eyes were void of any familiarity. They were entirely normal, a russet color, no hint of the glow that adorned Dream’s eyes. There was something else too, something was off about his face, but Dream couldn't put his finger on what. He stopped before Grian hesitantly. He wanted his brother to recognize him. To know why this was happening. He had to say something, something to remind him. Would Grian remember Evo? He had to, right?

But before he got any words out a searing pain emerged in his right calf. He fell, to one knee, cursing himself for not staying on his feet. With a quick glance down he saw a neatly made arrow point out from his leg. The magic in his body flowed around it, keeping the pain at bay as much as possible, but he still felt it. He turned around just in time to see his other brother at the door with a bow in hand. Just as with Grian, something about his face seemed off. But his eyes… They were glowing, like Dreams.

A motion in his peripheral vision caught his attention and he immediately realised George was about to shoot an arrow at Xisuma in retaliation. Panic flashed through him as he watched the arrow fly, but it never hit Xisuma. Instead it bore into his shield.

“Stop this madness,” the mayor exclaimed, looking incredibly lost. “Xisuma, what is going on? Who are these people?”

Sapnap came to Dream’s side to support him while George stood in front of them with his bow. Ready to fire at all who dared to move towards them. Dream gave Sapnap a dismissing wave of his hand, signalising he was okay. He started to inspect the wound. Luckily, the arrow hadn’t gone too deep, it couldn’t have had much force behind it. He pulled it out with a pained grunt while Sapnap winced and lifted his pant leg to watch the wound stitch itself together with his magic, which Sapnap would surely demand an explanation for later. He was a Watcher, he didn’t get hurt, he didn’t change. But as Xisuma answered the mayor that he feared that the three unknown men were here to harm them, he found a change. Not in him, but in his brothers. He realized what was off about their faces. They had new lines. Dimples and small bags under their eyes. A growing stubble on Grian’s face and a tiredness over Xisumas. They were changing. They were getting older.

But how was it possible? Weren’t they eternal? No, Dream realized with a growing panic. The Watchers were eternal. The Watchers were the ones who couldn’t be harmed, who never died. Like him, all that fit in on him. But his brothers? Were they still Watchers? Xisuma’s eyes glowed, but a much weaker glow than Dream’s. And Grian’s didn’t glow at all. They were more humans than Watchers now. He could clearly see the traces of time on their faces, did that mean they were slowly dying? Withering away like they had watched humans do through all times. Could they even go back to watching or were they too human to ever enter the void again? No, of course they would be able to watch again. He would get them stuck in the void while he was free. If they were more humanlike it only meant that he was more powerful, more magical than them, and that they wouldn’t be able to stop him. This was good, they had practically doomed themselves to surrender to his mercy. But he didn’t have mercy, and they knew that. They would feel that. The only thing he wanted now was to make Grian remember, so he could see the pain in his glowing eyes when he realized there was nothing any of them could do.

The discussion that had been going on in the background reached his ears and he heard Xisuma trying to explain why it was a bad idea to not arrest them at once while George argued that Xisuma had shot Dream unprovoked, and that they had only defended themselves. Scar looked inclined to agree with George. Dream cleared his throat and rose to his feet with a fully healed calf leaving everyone, with the exception of Sapnap and Xisuma, staring in bewilderment and unease, wondering how the hell he was standing with that wound.

“I can assure you we mean no harm,” Dream said to the mayor. “We’re just here because I need to call in a debt from two of your citizens. Then we'll be on our way.”

Scar looked extremely hesitant. Understandable considering new people probably never arrived in the Hermitlands since the border was protected by a barrier. Dream could see he needed more convincing, so he decided to throw all caution to the wind.

“Look, we know you’re not fighters,” Dream started while shooting Sapnap a glance. “Sure, you have the numbers and you know the place better than us, but these two are my best fighters, and if I give the word they will burn your precious realm to the ground and none of you would be able to stop them. All I’m asking for is some time to talk to Xisumavoid and Grian in private, and we will not harm anyone.”

Dream knew it was a risk to go on the offensive like that, but he felt impatience burning through him. He wanted to see their pain, he wanted to be the cause of that pain. He wanted them to know that he relished in it. Just like they hurt him, he would hurt them tenfold. It didn’t really matter if Scar agreed to let him speak to them or not. He would have his way. Most people here weren’t fighters, it was obvious. They had a nice, whole peaceful realm. Why would they ever need to fight. Sure, there were probably some skilled people, but he didn’t doubt that George and Sapnap could handle them easily.

Scar started to shake his head, signalizing that he wouldn’t accept Dream’s terms. For a second everything slowed in Dream’s mind while he scanned the surroundings. The three of them were in the middle of the building, George facing the entrance while Sapnap and him looked at the mayor, who in turn was on the diamond throne. Grian and a man with a remarkably refined mustache stood to the side of the throne while Xisuma stood in the doorway behind them. Then he gave the signal and all hell broke loose. Sapnap ran out of the room while lighting up a torch, looking like a complete maniac. George fired away another arrow towards Xisuma to distract him while Sapnap passed. Another arrow was aimed at Scar before he ran after Sapnap. Both managed to narrowly avoid the arrows, and Scar chased after George with a sword in hand to stop him. Grian’s mustached friend tapped his arm and they both ran towards an archway leading into another room. Dream was about to stop them when someone hit the inside of his knees, making him fall to the floor. He spun around and jabbed out his leg to make his attacker lose balance. They didn’t fall but their balance was disrupted and he got up while grabbing his axe.

“Wait,” Xisuma said, holding his shield. “They all left, you got what you wanted. So let’s talk.”

“I wanted both of you here, we're talking when everyone's present.” Still Dream paused.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s here. He won’t remember you.”

“Why, what did he do?”

“He did nothing.” Xisuma’s eyes were regretful. “I took his memories from the void.”

Dream felt anger rise up in him at the other’s words, but he wasn’t the only one. Because unbeknownst to both of them, someone else heard the words. When they left the room earlier Mumbo had taken off to alert False and Iskall of the current situation, they were the best fighters and their help was needed. Grian however had stayed, for he was a curious soul through and through. He wanted to know what the masked man wanted from him. And though he didn’t understand the context of everything the other two were saying, he knew that something bigger was at play here. For like we’ve already asserted, Grian wasn’t stupid. He was going to stay and listen to what the men had to say to each other, and he would get to the bottom of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we end it with a cliffhanger.
> 
> Next chapter will be the Talk™ and since this was originally planned as one chapter, most of the next chapter is already complete. It will be out later today or tomorrow!
> 
> Feedback is massively appreciated! Have a great day/night, love you <3


	7. Like Shattered Glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talking time! Will they solve thing's and calmly talk everything out before hugging it out? Uhh, not exactly, but that's not as fun.
> 
> Let the anger begin!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> So I'm really happy I split the chapters up, because this ended up a lot longer than intended, so here's the rest!
> 
> I would really like to know how many times I've been using some variation of "watch" in this fanfic.
> 
> Happy reading <3

Neither one of them moved. They stood before each other, Dream with his axe and Xisuma with the shield. From the Shopping District distant cries could be heard and Dream saw Xisuma flinch visibly at every one. Dream waited before speaking, making the man in front of him shift and stare at the unyielding mask.

“When did you decide?” Dream’s voice was shaking with anger. “When did you decide that your wants, that your happiness was more important than mine?”

“It wasn’t my happiness I was after. I was trying to keep the humans I lived around safe. I was trying to keep Grian safe.”

“Don’t you lie to me. You might even believe that yourself, but I know you didn’t do it for anyone’s sake but your own. We kept the humans safe by watching, not interacting. Do you not think I know how you despised being a Watcher. Because I know, better than anyone. I despised it just as much.”

“Broth-”

Dream sneered. “It’s Dream. You know what, I don’t want to hear your reasons, because I already know. I know you, and I know you are selfish. And you know what’s great?” He laughed humorlessly. “You can’t stop me if I send you back to the void right now, because you’re growing more human by the day. So you will watch while your new home dies and your people bow to me.”

Dream could see Xisuma’s eyes flare brightly purple, and he was happy. He wanted the other to lash out, to show his true colors. But he chose a different approach. “You’re becoming a human too,” he said, glow softening again. “You're losing your grip, emotions are taking over you. You would never have shown anger like this before, you seem desperate. You’re impulsive. And those men who arrived with you, it’s clear in your eyes that you trust them. As a Watcher, you would never trust a human willingly. And I see how it scares you.”

Dream’s grip on his axe tightened until almost painful, but he didn’t feel pain, because he wasn’t human. Right? Xisuma saw this and continued. “You’re scared that you will age, that you will die. You’re scared that you will lose everything that makes you special. But you don’t have to. That is why I left, and that is why Grian left. Your happiness is as a Watcher, ours is as humans. Can’t you see that? What do you actually want, because you can’t have a life and the powers of a Watcher.”

“I don’t want a life,” Dream bit out. “I only want freedom, to be able to go anywhere, see anything and never be held down. I realized something when you both left, I can do anything, we all could. But we didn’t, we stayed there and didn’t do anything except watching, watching and watching. Well now’s your time to watch, I will never go back there again.”

“Haven’t you learned? Dream, wasn’t it?” Dream hated the way his name sounded in his brother’s mouth. “You can’t have both freedom and your powers, you will have to choose. Grian and I, we’re more human than Watchers at this point, but you, you can still go back. And we both know that if it came down to it, you wouldn’t hesitate to choose the life of a Watcher above the life of a human. You would leave everyone here behind.”

“You mean like you did with me?” Dream took a deep breath and swung his axe deep into Xisuma's shield, making the other man fall backwards on the floor with the shield above him. Dream put a foot on the shield and pressed down while ripping his axe free from the wood. “I’ve had enough of your hypocrisy.” 

And out of Xisuma’s pocket something fell down onto the floor. Dream looked at it for a moment. It was a small bottle of clear glass filled with a raging, red whirlwind. Dream picked it up carefully while Xisuma struggled underneath the shield, only making Dream press his foot down more. The vial thrummed with energy in his fingers, like it held a beast longing to be free and Dream chuckled. This was Grian’s memories. He turned his eyes to Xisuma and found him watching with pleading eyes. And Dream put away the axe and raised his hand to pull up his mask. Shining green met fading purple, and while keeping eye contact, Dream dropped the vial to the stone floor. Glass shattered and spread across the floor while the red smoke flew to find where it belonged. 

Eyes flared red and suddenly Grian remembered. He remembered everything. The void, the Watchers, Evo, Green. Dream. What was it Xisuma had said? He took Grian’s memories from the void? How could Xisuma put him at a risk like that. It wasn't like he normally remembered anyway. The only occasion he would remember is in a situation like this. When he’s in danger. When he was reunited with his brother.

So they all were down here now, Grian wondered how the Earth was faring. That wasn’t for him to worry about anymore though, he hadn’t cared much for those humans anyway. The humans in Hermitland though, Mumbo, Iskall and everyone else. Those he would worry about. Had Xisuma tried selling him out to Dream by removing his chance to fight back, or had he actually tried to protect him?

Well he wouldn’t find out by standing here. He stepped into the room, weaponless, planless but not entirely defenseless. Swords and shields weren't his fighting style anyway, Grian always had some TNT with him in case of emergencies or spontaneous pranks. He didn’t make any noise and didn’t think that Dream would notice him so quickly, but as he now remembered: Dream wasn’t human, and he whipped around to face Grian with an axe in hand. And based on the intense glow his eyes emitted, he had magic, which helped further heighten his senses. 

They stared at each other for a moment, Dream taking in Grian’s now red eyes while Grian took in the way Xisuma was stuck under the shield Dream pressed down with his foot. While Dream was distracted however, Xisuma took his chance and twisted the shield to put Dream out of balance. Dream stumbled backwards and Xisuma could rise. Now they stood in a triangle. Dream, Xisuma and Grian. Green, Purple, Red. Three brothers reunited in a world they didn’t belong in. But that wasn’t the case anymore, was it? Green, Purple and Red didn't belong in Mojang. The Watchers didn’t belong in Mojang, but were any of them truly a Watcher anymore? The Watchers didn’t change, they didn’t fight, they didn’t struggle with feelings or right or wrong, because for them, everything was clear. Weren’t they the perfect beings? Could they be perfect beings if they longed away, if they longed for something more? These three were all humans to different extents and though Dream hated to admit it, he could see how his brothers had embraced human life. They had fallen in love with it. Even though they were still partly Watchers, they were more human than not.

And he wasn’t.

But he didn’t care. He wouldn't be the last Watcher, no matter how human they became. This wasn’t going to end with him in the void, but them, watching him tear their realm apart while unable to stop him.

“How did you get past the barrier?” Grian asked suddenly. “Even as at your highest point, it should have been impenetrable. It was a perfect design.”

Dream couldn’t detect any apparent malice in his voice, just curiosity. Grian had probably designed it and let Xisuma do the magic, and now he wanted to know if there was any flaw in the design. Well, at least he was predictable. 

“I didn’t get past it,” was the only answer Dream gave.

Grian looked highly dissatisfied with the answer, but he realized he wouldn’t get anything by continuing to argue. 

Silence hung in the air for a few more moments while all three of them prepared for what would happen next. They all knew who would be the next one to speak, because they knew each other. They had always known each other. But not anymore. They weren’t exactly strangers, they were just shattered. Like the pieces of the vial spread out on the floor. Once they had been a unit, together as one. But now they had broken apart, they were separated. But that separation wasn’t peaceful, it wasn’t gradual like for most brothers who grew up and grew apart. It was sudden, violent and left them all feeling incomplete. Like they had lost a bit of themselves, and instead darkness slipped in and corrupted their hearts, mind and souls.

“Dream,” Xisuma began deceptively calm. “We’re not made for being Watchers. I’m not suited for that. You know that. I long to grow old, to see the world, to feel the grass in my hands. I long for life more than you ever did, and if you loved me once, please let me have it.”

“It’s funny how quickly that went from ‘we’ to ‘I’,” Dream said, throwing a sly smirk towards Xisuma. “In the end, it’s only you, right?”

Grian looked at them with growing unease. He too, loved the life he had in Hermitland. He too wanted to stay. But he knew that no amount of words could convince Dream when he had his mind set. That’s why he hadn’t said anything all that time ago when he left for Evo, so Dream couldn’t stop him. And this was the same situation. Xisuma always thought words could save him, and if he used that strategy towards their brother, then he had to be really desperate. But, Grian reasoned, he didn't have anything else to say to Dream. And Dream couldn’t threaten him or force him to leave if Grian simply wasn’t there. Now he didn’t really want to run. No, he wanted to win. He always wanted to win. But he knew that he was in a precarious position, and right now he couldn’t win. But Dream wouldn’t stop, and Grian knew that. So he would pull away for now and plan his defense for the next time. When it was more beneficial for him. And he would win.

Dream saw the TNT in Grian’s hand, but he had no time to react. Grian quickly lit it and threw it in between the other two. They barely had the time to jump away and the force of the explosion made them hit the floor. When they looked up again, Grian was gone.

Dream swore, but before he had time to do anything an ear piercing scream close by caught his attention. A familiar voice reached his ears, shouting one word again and again, full of fear. 

“GEORGE!”

Dream felt panic flash through him and he got up to rush out of the building. He was met with the sight of Sapnap, viciously fighting his way towards George who was crumpled on the ground on a cliff a bit away. Above him stood a girl with blonde hair and a bloody knife in hand. She looked like she had crept up behind George while he stood with his bow. Dream was dumbstruck. This couldn’t be. 

He saw George twist weakly and a wave of relief flowed over him. He was still alive. Dream watched Sapnap reach him, leaving a trail after him of unconscious or running people. The girl looked up and brought up the knife to defend herself. Sapnap immediately attacked her.

“Get. Away. From. Him.” Each word was punctuated with a hit of his sword while panicked tears streamed down his face. 

It was a fair battle, Sapnap unrelenting in his attacks while the girl nimbly avoided every one of them, sometimes trying to attack as well. Dream was woken up from his trance and he let his anger grow. It guided his magic through him before exploding in a pulse of green, heading towards the girl. He ran towards them and watched the girl get hit by the pulse, flying away before crashing into a roof. Dream hurried to kneel by George and turn him around.

The bottom half of his shirt was entirely red with blood, coming from a deep wound in his side, and Sapnap quickly kneeled beside them while ripping a strand of his shirt. He tied the strand tightly around the wound and George’s waist. 

“We need to get him back. Now.” Hard eyes met Dream’s and he nodded in agreement. 

He would have to come back for his brothers some other day. He lifted George, the other starting to grow impossible pale, and started to run towards the portal they had arrived in. Sapnap, close behind, ensured no one would follow them. 

While the three men entered the portal two pairs of eyes watched them. And right then, Xisuma and Grian realized for the first time that their brother, just like them, had learned to love life. And he, like them, had found new brothers, brothers of his choice, brothers bound by something much stronger than blood. And they were happy for him, despite all. Xisuma smiled sadly as he saw Dream leave. Because in the shards of their shattered family, there was still love. 

And it would ruin them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I counted in this chapter, I used "watch" 23 times. Now you know that!
> 
> So since it's new years tomorrow, I will probably not release a chapter, I will be celebrating the end of this wretched year, yay! If you celebrate new years or something similar, happy new year!
> 
> Thank you so so much for reading, and thank you for your comments! I'm starting to recognize some recurring names and that makes me really happy! I always love talking to you and to read your thoughts, theories and feedback, you're so kind.
> 
> I love you all, see you in a few days <3


	8. Battle of Hearts and Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George is on the brink of death, but maybe he can still be saved. Will Sapnap's anger be enough to scare Dream into saving George? 
> 
> This chapter is basically every character feeling pain, pain and more pain! Fun, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man was this chapter hard to write.  
> Sorry it's a bit late but at least it's a really long chapter.
> 
> I tried to have it normal length but Dream had a lot to think about and I couldn't find a good place to cut this one into two, well a long chapter is fun too!
> 
> Oke I'm done for now, happy reading!

The journey back to the Land of Dreams was hellish, and it had nothing to do with the landscape they travelled through. With the help of a few ropes found in the backpacks they managed to tie George to Sapnap’s back, and they threw all unnecessary items in the lava. They didn’t want to risk the Hermits finding it.

It seemed like Sapnap avoided talking to Dream as much as possible, and he threw him suspicious glances every once in a while. Dream assumed it had something to do with the two times he had used magic while in Hermitland. Sapnap was almost entirely quiet as they took the Striders back, only occasionally opening his mouth. Dream couldn’t hear much of what he said, but it sounded like he murmured words of comfort to the unconscious George. What was even the point of that? George couldn’t hear him anyway, and even if he did, what good was it to give George false hope? Dream’s hand on his fishing rod tightened at that thought. False hope. It was too early to determine for sure whether George would live or die, but the situation didn’t look good.

It felt awful.

How did humans cope with the constant unawareness? It nearly drove him insane. His heart thumped hard against his chest and his eyes repeatedly flickered back towards George’s head on Sapnap’s shoulder. He wanted to do something with his hands, anything. Tear apart something, create something, clean his weapons and hit a wall. He wanted to know why he was so confused. Why he cared. Why he couldn’t stop. He wanted his hands to stop shaking and his mind to stop replaying the memory of George’s scream and Sapnap’s panicked tears. He wanted…

To stop.

How could he handle this? How could humans handle this? They were weak minded and breakable. They were nothing. So why did he worry about George then? George was a human. This was the way of humans, they lived, they laughed, they fought, until one day they suddenly didn’t. He had seen it time and time again through eternity and never felt this way before. So why? He didn’t feel. He couldn’t feel. He was a Watcher. He watched, without interfering, without emotions. So he could shut this down.

And he did, he pushed it down as far as he possibly could. It didn’t disappear though, it would remain there, growing until it became too big to ignore. And every little thing he’d pressed down since his brothers first left him would come back. But despite this, he did it. Because he chose to not see the human part of himself, and what force was more powerful than denial? He became emotionless, except for one thing. A lingering powerful regret he couldn’t name. Was it his fault that George was injured? It couldn’t be, George and Sapnap had insisted on joining him. They were grown men, they could take their own responsibility. So why did he feel like he was to blame? It was truly an annoying feeling, probably the worst he’d experienced, he decided.

As they arrived at the shore close to their portal his thoughts diminished. Sapnap continued with his silence as they went through the portal, as they saddled their horses while George’s followed behind them. It started to get on Dream’s nerves. He wanted an escape from his own head, he wanted to think about something else than George. He wanted to stop feeling. But Sapnap was eerily silent, and Dream, for once, couldn’t find anything to say.

So they were quiet.

When they finally arrived, George was hurried to a medic and Sapnap followed. Dream stayed behind. He met with Punz to alert him they were back and get a report about eventual happenings. Granted, they had only been gone for almost a day, but as proven, a lot of things could happen in a day.

\---

It was a few hours later and the sun had just set when Dream carefully opened the door to the medic’s room. It was lit up by a few lone torches on the wall, dark shadows playing in between them. Dream spotted a hunched body next to the bed farthest into the room. As he got closer the mop of black hair told him it was Sapnap, sleeping in a chair with his head resting on the foot of the bed. His sword was sheathed to his side and he looked like he hadn't cleaned since they got back, George’s blood still covering his hands and shirt. There were stripes from tears running through the grime on his face.

Dream let his gaze travel to George’s sleeping form, whom he had purposefully avoided looking at from their travel back home until now. For good reason. George looked like he stood on death’s door. His face was still impossibly pale but now he had a few sweat streaks over his brow, signalising a growing fever. He had thrown off his blanket while he slept and the wound was visible. The medic had covered it in healing herbs and clean bandages but it still bled. Luckily the Hermitlands was more technically advanced than most in Mojang, and the knife seemed to have been sharp and cut clean. But Dream recognized death. He knew now, that George lived on borrowed time. And for some reason it made him feel like he was back in the void, alone. Would Sapnap leave if George was gone?

George stirred a bit in his sleep and hit Sapnap’s head lightly with his foot. Sapnap immediately jerked awake. He quickly looked around and spotted Dream just a few steps away. His face hardened and he rose to his feet. With a mumbled ‘Wait here’ he hurried away to the back of the room and knocked on a door. The door opened and a cloaked figure emerged. Sapnap exchanged a few quick words with the figure and they both turned towards Dream. The hooded man walked to George’s side while Sapnap walked up to Dream and grabbed his arm roughly, dragging him towards the door he just knocked on.

Dream didn’t bother to try and resist, he felt as if he should lecture Sapnap on respect, but his mind was foggy and unclear. As they entered the room, sparsely decorated with a few shelves of herbs and cabinets, some couches and a small kitchen in the corner, Sapnap turned on Dream with eyes so fiery that Dream lost whatever train of thought he’d had. No one had ever looked at him with such anger before, but still he recognized the look. It was the same look he himself wore when he saw Xisuma stand in the opening of the mayor’s residence. It was disgust, hatred and betrayal.

“You never told us anything,” Sapnap began, voice shaking with badly contained fury. “We’ve listened to you, followed you, fought beside you without question since you arrived. And you didn’t tell us a single goddamn thing about what you actually wanted. And that was fine, we didn’t care. Because you brought us success and victory. But then we helped you with something. We followed you to the east because we cared for you. You were our friend. And you still didn’t say anything. You didn’t tell us a single fucking thing about what you actually wanted. You only told us lies. And George got hurt while doing your bidding, because he tried to help you. And you didn’t even bother to fucking help him.”

Dream felt anger rise up. “Help him?! Without me he would have bled out while you battled that girl. I saved him. And you both insisted on accompanying me, I didn’t ask for any of your help!” This was in no way his fault. He had done everything he possibly could. That was what he’d told himself while they travelled home, and that was the truth.

“Do you think I’m fucking stupid?” Sapnap yelled. “I saw your wound close itself after that guy shot you. And just like with everything else you haven’t bothered to explain that! Now I don’t know how you did it, or how you hit that girl when I fought her, and I really don’t care at the moment. But if you healed yourself, then heal George.” Dream could see how Sapnap’s anger melted away with those words. His tone softened and he looked at Dream with pleading eyes. Dream himself was stunned to silence. Heal George? With his magic? Well, he could technically do it, but that would go against the rules of the Watchers. They should only use magic to affect the timeline when it was absolutely crucial. To use it to save a single human being… Well it was unnecessary. Dying was simply a part of life.

But at the same time another part of him screamed at this. It begged him to reconsider, to do whatever it took to save the dying man outside. His friend. But Watchers didn’t have friends. And he was a Watcher, through and through. He was cold, distant, superior. He hadn’t changed.

“I can’t.”

“You can’t or you don’t want to?” Sapnap said scathingly, fire burning in his eyes.

“That’s not the intended use of magic,” Dream answered. “It would be biased.”

A silent moment followed where Sapnap just stared at him in disbelief.

“You coldhearted bitch,” Sapnap screamed. “You don’t think it was biased that you healed yourself? That you fucking launched a girl away like it was nothing? George is my best fucking friend, the only consistent thing in my life, he’s kind, protective, honest, everything you’re not, and if this was reversed he would never hesitate to save you!”

The door burst open and the hooded medic rushed in, drawn by the screaming. He took in the situation and air in the room. Sapnap looking ready for murder, Dream standing in the middle of the room with an internal crisis going on, fortunately his face was hidden but the medic seemed to understand anyway.

“Sapnap, he’s slipping,” the medic said. “I’m so sorry, I don’t think I can do anything.” He sounded on the verge of tears and Dream’s crisis was briefly interrupted by the thought that a medic who cried over every person they didn’t save would have a really hard life.

All anger was immediately replaced by a horrible dread on Sapnap’s face. “It’s not your fault, Bad. You did everything you could.”

The medic, Bad, threw a glance at Dream. “Hey, you go to him, I’ll handle this.”  
Sapnap looked hesitant but after Bad’s reassuring hand on his shoulder, he threw Dream a last vicious look and headed out.

“Don’t take it too personally, he’s not really angry at you, he’s just very scared and desperate. It gets difficult for him to control his emotions when he’s like that and he takes it out on the wrong people,” Bad said kindly, walking over to the stove in the corner of the room.

Dream was pretty sure that Sapnap actually was angry, and that he himself indeed was the intended recipient of that anger, but he didn’t respond to Bad. He stood numb, considering the screaming conversation with Sapnap. Unfortunately the other had been right. He had been biased when he used magic on that girl. He hadn’t been thinking, to think back at it was like seeing through a fog. He hadn’t been in control, something else, something primal and animalistic had taken over. And it frightened him. He couldn’t let that happen again, and wasn’t restraint from saving George the perfect way to prove he was still in control. Maybe he wanted to save him, but he wouldn’t. Because he was a Watcher, and he only did what was necessary. And saving George wasn’t. It would be good for him, he would prove to himself that he was controlled. That he wasn’t human.

“Please sit down.” Bad’s words interrupted his thoughts. Dream turned around to find Bad gesturing toward the small couch against the wall the opposite side of the door, and he hesitantly went there. He felt incredibly weird, detached. Usually he was confident and loud, but now he had fallen silent. “You know, when I was a child, my village got attacked,” Bad continued with a pained voice. “It was a band of thieves, they came in the night. My parents were both sleeping and my mother’s throat was slit while she slept. My father wasn’t a soldier, but he slept lightly and he woke up. He took his bedside torch and struck the closest one in the head, not enough to knock him out, but enough to buy my father time to run.”

He paused to sit down opposite Dream pouring up two cups of steaming tea and taking his own. Dream still felt numb, why couldn’t he do anything? Why couldn't he think? And why was the medic telling him this? All his feelings were numbed but they were still somehow there, it was nothing like the numb feelings of the Watchers. It was an apathy that chilled him to the core. And his fears from earlier grew again. George dying. His lack of control. Numbness. It was all piling up and stocking his throat. Bad threw him a concerned look. When he made sure the other breathed he continued his story.

“My father ran out of the room. And I had been woken up by the ruckus and tried to find out what caused it. He saw me and in his eyes I saw a decision being made. When the thieves came after him he was already out the door, and I was left behind. They looked at me, and one of them approached and kneeled before me. I was only a child, he said he wouldn't kill me but he had a reputation to worry about… he took his knife, the same knife he used on my mother, and he…”

Bad lifted his hood, beneath it he had a black and red mask covering the lower half of his face which he also pulled away. An uneven scar stretched from below his left eye to his jaw, over his mouth. Dream looked at it silently. This man. This man who had been marked by violence as a child, abandoned by one who was supposed to love him, he was a medic? A healer.

Bad grabbed his mask again and covered the lower half of his face. “And that’s when I decided my purpose, I wanted to help people, save people. But what I wanted most of all, was to avoid becoming someone like those thieves or my father. Who abused and spread pain. I don’t know your story. You conquered my land, and I joined you, because I wanted to help. But I can’t help George, so please, if you can save him like Sapnap claims you can, do it. George has become my friend, and I don’t want to lose another person like I lost my mother all those years ago.”

This was exactly what Dream didn’t need to hear. It wasn’t that this stranger’s story affected him, but this man loved George, he seemed to love everyone, despite what they did to hurt him. It was so vastly different from Dream that Dream had trouble understanding the other. How could he live through such pain and betrayal and still use kindness to motivate himself? How was his wish to save humans more powerful than his anger at the world for hurting him? He was everything Dream wasn’t and it made Dream uncomfortable beyond belief.

But this stranger, and Sapnap, they both were so desperate to save George that they disregarded Dream’s status, they didn’t care that he had said no, it wouldn’t be over until George’s body was buried six feet under. Didn’t they understand that it killed Dream to not save George? But that was exactly why he had to let him die, he had to kill the human part of himself, and if the cost for that was George’s life then so be it. He could get his revenge on the girl that was responsible later.

But that small, protesting voice inside him became increasingly louder. If he had the power to save George and then didn’t, wasn’t he equally as responsible as the girl? No, that was just his human conscience speaking, and it was not trustworthy, biased by emotions as it was. Sapnap’s yelling and Bad’s kind eyes flew around in his head, and was replaced by another image. George, shaking his hand when they first met. George, giggling with Sapnap before they entered the portal. And George, without hesitation, shooting an arrow towards Dream’s brother to protect him.

Shit.

Dream’s legs started to move on their own accord, and in his mind the fog dissipated. All the feelings he had gathered would overflow. He stumbled out the door and Sapnap’s eyes met his own. All his doubts and reason left him. He reached George’s bed and carefully undid the bandages.

Then he started.

Healing someone else was a new experience, but he found it wasn’t that different from healing yourself. From his hands green strands flowed and they streamed to the wound. The strands made their way under George’s skin like glowing green snakes. After a few painstakingly long seconds the green strands began to string the skin together.  
But Dream felt an approaching barrier within himself and after the skin was fully blank, he lowered his hands. He struggled to breathe, it felt like his magic was evaporating, like a well beginning to run dry. Sapnap stood beside him while he felt Bad come up from behind, both taking in the now closed wound with wide eyes.

And George, color started pouring into his face and his breathing became more even. Dream knew he would awaken soon, but he couldn’t stay until that happened. His hands were shaking beside him and he clenched them into fists to make it stop, he swayed lightly on his feet. No matter what he had done it would have been wrong. He saved George, he took another step into the grasping claws of humanity. So why didn’t it feel wrong? Why did he feel relieved and happy. Why did he want to stay here and sit up the rest of the night to talk and laugh with Sapnap and George? Exchanging stupid stories and bad jokes.

“Dream,” Sapnap said while reaching his hand out for him. “Thank you. Thank you.”

“You should sit down for a bit, muffin,” Bad said. “You look a bit unstable. Please tell me how you did that, could you do it again to others?”

Dream didn’t say a word. He tore away from both of them and almost rushed out of the room. He knew they both wanted an explanation, but he wouldn’t provide one right now. He left the room, desperately trying to get himself back under control, desperately trying to breathe. But he couldn’t. He didn’t know where he was going, he just knew he wanted out, away. But as soon as he felt the cool night breeze graze his cheek, an unknown face came into view. Dream really didn’t feel in the mood to appease humans right now and he decided to get rid of this person as quickly as possible using any threats necessary. Unfortunately this person didn’t seem to be from his clan, because then they wouldn’t have stopped him so boldly asking for directions. Threats also didn’t seem to affect him. Dream felt his irritation grow while the man tried to talk to him.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself,” the man said after a wearily long story about how he got there. “Joe Hills, dogcatcher at your service.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENTER OUR SAVIOR BADBOYHALO!
> 
> WOOOOOOO, two new characters! And next chapter another character will arrive, one I'm sure many of you will be very excited to see!
> 
> This chapter was like I said quite hard to write, specifically Sapnap's anger, but I hope it still turned out well. The next chapter can be expected tomorrow or the day after.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, I love you and feedback/theories/thoughts are massively appreciated. Until next time!


	9. The Watcher and the Blood God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream is a bit smad and he leaves the camp and the new arrival to be alone. Someone interrupts him though, but maybe a fight would do him good?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> Sorry it took some time to get this out. Yesterday was my brother's birthday and I have also been feeling a bit out of it and had some trouble getting my thoughts together. That might or might not be evident in the chapter, who knows.
> 
> Also, thank you so much for all your kind comments and theories and more, it truly makes my day!
> 
> I hope you enjoy <3

Dream had a lot to think about. He’d always had. As a Watcher it had been easy to watch and manage the entire world at once, but that was when he was fully a Watcher. Now he was partly human, which is exactly what he needed to think about, and it would be much more manageable had he not been a human. But then again, if he wasn’t human, he wouldn’t need to think about it.

This chain of thoughts was a prime example of why humans were feeble, and he needed to figure out how to walk away from humanity immediately.

That was difficult however since he was held up by this new arrival, Joe Hills. It took a lot of self control to not simply strike the man down with his axe. Fortunately for Joe, self control was currently the only kind of control Dream had over himself, but it wouldn’t last long.

“Listen up dogcatcher.” Dream had interrupted him in the middle of his tale about how he became a dogcatcher in his hometown, winning the vote unanimously. “I’m sure someone in my clan will be drained enough by your tales to offer you a place to stay until the morning, it will be easier to find your way in the daytime. For now, leave me be if you care about your life.”

He then proceeded to push past the man who thanked him for the “invitation to stay”, seemingly being entirely unaffected by the threat on his life. Normally Dream wouldn’t welcome people without suspicion, but he could worry about this Joe Hills some other time, right now he had bigger issues.

And in turn, the newcomer watched the masked man practically run off into the night. It had been obvious he was in distress. Why was unclear, but it could very well have something to do with his friend that had been injured during the attack on Hermitland just a few hours earlier. That was good, if he was broken down it would make Joe's job oh so much easier. But for now, the only thing he could do was wait, and nestle himself into the workings of the Land of Dreams. He would achieve what he was sent there to do, he would save his home, the Hermitlands. And the Land of Dreams wouldn’t know what hit them before it was too late. 

\---

Leaving the man and the base behind, Dream soon found himself by a lake. Nearby, but disclosed enough that his associates wouldn’t find him, should anyone be stupid enough to come look. As soon as he had spotted the lake he rushed to it and ripped off his mask. In the water his reflection looked back, a frowning pale face meeting his. Looking very much like a frightened boy. And his eyes. They had faded. No brilliant green gazed back at him, instead a softer glow danced in his eyes, slowly shifting and changing. It was still noticeable and unnatural, but compared to the brilliance he’d had his first day on Mojang, it was faint. They looked more like Xisuma’s and Grian’s, lingering with the memory of a higher power, but bordering on completely human.

No.  


His life and magic would leave him. Everything he had always known would disappear and he would be stuck down here. He would be stuck. Forever. He couldn’t become human. He didn’t want to stay in this wretched place and die like he meant nothing. He didn’t want the worlds to forget him even if they’d never known him until he became human in the first place. He didn’t want his body to turn into ashes that scattered in the wind until no trace of him or his actions were left in this universe. Wasn’t it obvious that he wasn’t made for a temporary life, he was eternity. In its purest form. He’d already lost his brothers, and now he was losing everything else that made him who he was. His magic, his life, his devotion to his cause. This would have been so damned easy if he’d just let George die. He’d even had two different opportunities, and both times he had saved George. If only he hadn’t heard him scream in the Shopping District. Why couldn’t he see that in the end it was George’s life, George’s and Sapnap’s lives, or his? They would eventually die, and he…

He was scared.

And this time he couldn’t deny it. Well he could deny the intensity of his fear, but he had to acknowledge that it was there. He didn’t want to die. He had so much to do, to see and learn. It couldn’t end. But weren't these thoughts human? Wasn’t dying a human worry? Wasn’t he a Watcher? Yes, that wasn’t even a question. Of course he was a Watcher, and he was immortal. But for how long would that last? His brothers were aging. But they were different than him, they were so much weaker. So it was fine, he was fine. He could have both, he could have a life outside the void as well as immortality, somehow he would find a way. He always found a way. And the first problem to tackle was his magic.

He had felt a barrier when he healed George, and he had two theories as to why it had happened. The first one was to him the most reasonable one, he had left most of his magic in the void, only bringing a small portion to Mojang. The magic, just like him, originated from the fabric of the void. Just like him it was something unnatural, not meant for the worlds of the living. It was created from a place that shouldn’t even exist in the first place, a flaw in the structure of the universe. And here among the living beings, among natural life, new magic couldn’t be created.

But the second theory, the one he didn’t want to believe was unfortunately more plausible. Because just as the magic had come from the void, so had he. And he was a vessel for magic, he, the Watchers, were the void itself, in a living form and he should therefore be a renewable source of magic without the help of the void. If he didn’t create more magic, that would mean he was too much of a human to harbor it, and he would soon run out. It wasn’t that he couldn't live without it for a while, it was just that he shouldn’t need to. He was angry, so angry. Because despite all it was entirely his fault.

How could he have let this happen? In the end it was just foolish to blame anyone else than himself. He knew himself better than anyone, he knew everything better than anyone, and he had made a mistake. His brothers had been like him, and they too had been led astray by human life. They too had lost themselves. But there was an important difference. They had wanted to. And that difference would save him, he would be saved by his determination to stay away from humanity. He had realized his mistake, and he would be able to fix it. He just needed to do what he came here to do.

Maybe, had Dream stopped to consider what made him most happy, instead of what gave him his revenge, he would have chosen another path. Maybe if he realised he could be happy in the Land of Dreams just as his brothers were happy in Hermitland they could all live in peace. Maybe in another world, a kinder world this story would have gone differently. But this was a world of their creation, and it was as corrupted, unforgiving and betraying as they were. And that is why there couldn’t be peace, why Dream couldn’t be happy until his brothers were not. Why they would keep going until one side fell.

And the beginning of this fall was heading Dream’s way right now, in the form of a young man with long pink hair and a crown on his head. A crown he’d stolen from the first clan leader he’d ever murdered. And that was exactly his business, to take down the leader of the biggest clan in the Land of Dreams.

The Blade had come for Dream.

Dream saw him before he got close, but that was not a problem for the approaching one. He didn’t like assasination or to ambush his prey when they least expected it. He had no need for it either, undefeatable as he was. Alas, so was Dream. But the man had no doubt that he would be walking away victorious. He always was after all, what was the difference now?

When Dream spotted the figure he immediately tensed up and put his mask on again. His thoughts diminished, and he was on edge. Ready for anything. After all, he was a warrior, through and through. Taking his axe he rose up from his crouching position. Why was this man here in the middle of the night? On Dream’s lands? Dream scanned the man, trying to assess his purpose.

There was something odd with this man, he was definitely moving directly towards Dream with fast steps, looking like he had a boring task that needed taking care of before he could finally go to sleep. He was obviously a fighter, carrying a heavy sword and multiple knives by his side. He didn’t seem to have a shield though. What was most unsettling about him was that his face, like Dream’s, was covered with a mask. But his mask was shaped as an alarmingly realistic pig face. The mask left his mouth visible, and as he got closer Dream could detect a lazy smirk on his lips. 

The man stopped a few steps ahead of Dream and for a moment they just observed each other, both with a kind of disdain filling them. Words weren’t needed, it was obvious to Dream that a fight would take place, and he was excited. Maybe everything he needed was a good fight and a human at his feet to get back on his game. The arrogance in this man was obvious in the way he moved, and he was clearly confident in his abilities. Dream couldn’t wait to tear that illusion down.

“Dream, I presume?” the man said, voice sounding raspy and tired. “It would be a pity if I went and killed the wrong person.”

Dream narrowed his eyes. The man knew who he was, this was just a powerplay, trying to frighten him. He didn’t know why the man was here or why he was interested in taking Dream’s life, but he wouldn't be one to turn down a fight. “It would indeed,” Dream answered. “But I’m afraid you will have to rethink, I don’t have a habit of dying, and I don’t plan to change that.”

The man laughed. “We’ll see.”

Then he attacked.

Dream quickly realized something was wrong about this fight. He knew what the best options for him to win were, he knew what he should do. He knew everything. But so it seemed, did the other man too. He sidestepped every attack Dream cast, he parried every strike with the axe and he foresaw every single move. He fought like Dream. Without fear, without holding back and without any doubt that he would go victorious from the fight. It lit a fire in Dream and he couldn’t decide if it was from anger or excitement. 

He had fought a lot of people since he came to Mojang, none of them had ever come close to his skill level. But this man, it seemed, he was almost as good. They were almost equal. And Dream found that it was fun. It was fun to have an engaging battle requiring all of his capacity, it was fun to not hold back. It felt like he got to use all of his potential. It made him feel like a Watcher again, for the first time since he left the void. All thoughts about humans and his brothers left him, and for a moment he was just lost in the fight. Both were relentless, and as the fight went on they learnt each other's movements and tried to counter them. But to no avail. Dream grew wary, and decided that this dance had gone on for long enough.

It was time to end it.

Dream struck out his axe low, forcing his attacker to jump to avoid getting his feet cut off. Dream took a step forward, ducking under the sword coming his way. And pushed the other in the chest. He landed and stumbled backwards. Dream saw his chance and raised his axe but before he could go forward the sword came towards him again. It had an odd angle, and Dream simply took a step to the side to avoid it. But it seemed like the pink haired man had expected that and he angled the sword at the last second to cut off the band that fastened Dream’s mask, the sword then grazed his cheek and he could feel the blood beginning to pour down. The mask fell off and Dream instinctively jolted backwards. That had been a show of the utmost precision. That should have been impossible to do considering the speed of which they both moved.

The man smiled as he saw Dream’s eyes. “I knew something was off about you.”

Dream wasn't prepared. The man jumped at him and he couldn't get his axe up in time. He fell onto his back while the man stood over him with the sword at his throat. Dream tried to lift his head but the sword pressed into his neck and a bit of warm blood began to drip from the wound it caused. 

He had lost. 

It had to be because of the mask. He was just surprised, he wasn’t used to facing someone so close to his level. It was a new experience. But he shouldn’t get surprised, now should he. Because Watchers didn’t feel. And he lost. How could he be so fucking weak that he lost to a human? He gritted his teeth and stubbornly looked up at the man above him.

The man who had beaten him.

The man in question stared down at him with those vacant eyes on his mask. “You know, I’ve heard a fair share of stories about you,” he began. “I’m sure you know what kind of stories you are the root of. And I got curious. I have to say I’m disappointed, you weren’t as unbeatable as they said.”

“You think you can kill me?” Dream bit back. “Then try.” It was surely a bad move to want to provoke the man who wanted to kill him, but despite his anger, Dream had a few ideas. He wouldn’t simply die like this. This man wasn’t the kind of person who wasted time talking about his plans, no if he was gonna kill Dream, he would do it quickly. So Dream had to be equally quick. Words were unimportant in a fight, they were meant to distract and mislead. That’s why you should make your move while your opponent is talking. But what the man said next made him stop in surprise.

“I won’t kill you. At least not today.”

Then he simply lifted his sword and sheathed it, turning his back to walk away calmly. Dream wasn’t fooled by the confident exit. He knew that the man was aware of Dream, and his surroundings. Dream knew because he was the same. But why the man hadn’t killed him, he wasn’t sure. Was it out of pity? No, men like him didn’t feel pity. Especially not for people like Dream. The man wouldn’t just have made his way here with the obvious intent to kill him, just to spare his life. Something had changed his mind. For now.

Dream let him leave, despite the pain it took to admit it there wasn’t much Dream could do to stop him. And he wouldn’t attack the man when he had his back turned. Dream wanted to fight him again, a fair fight. He wanted to prove that he could win. And he knew that the man was coming back. It had been too fair of a fight for both of them, and none were satisfied. Dream knew, and the stranger knew, because they were the same.

Picking up his mask he returned to his spot by the lake. His thoughts were calm again, but he didn’t feel like returning just yet. The fight had given him new concerns.He wanted to be alone, to look up towards the stars, if he looked closely he might see the void. The man had beaten him, but Dream was still better, he was sure of it. Now he just had something to learn, someone to best. 

And with those thoughts in mind, he fell asleep beside the lake with only the stars watching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't know how to write fight scenes so this is partly inspired by SAD-ist's animatic Technoblade vs. Dream. 
> 
> I hope you liked the chapter, I don't feel completely happy with it, so I will try to do better with the upcoming ones. And I know that there are many plot lines and questions right now, especially about Joe and how he got there, but don't worry, everything will be explained.
> 
> Please leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments if you want to, it's massively appreciated <3
> 
> The next chapter will come out soon, thank you for reading and I'll see you next chapter!


	10. The Land of Everlasting Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are now back with the Hermits to see how they fare in the aftermath of the attack. Spoiler alert: Not that well.
> 
> Two brothers have an angry discussion about their third brother who might possibly be considering to attack their home and burn it down. They are quite a dysfunctional family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter woo!  
> This is just a small jump to the Hermits, because some things need explaining and I also miss them. Grian and X need their screen time too. It's a bit shorter than normal but that's just how it do be sometimes
> 
> I hope you enjoy <3

This wasn’t how their life was supposed to be.

Grian watched as his friends and their beloved Shopping District slowly tried to recover after Dream and his two friends had left. Many had minor injuries, some, like False after being sent away by Dream’s magic, had more. Despite her injuries, False had left the fight surprisingly unharmed considering she had single handedly fought all three of the attackers. If Dream’s bolt of magic now even could be considered fighting. Luckily everyone would recover. Many of the shops and houses in the Shopping District had been so badly damaged by the fire one of the boys had spread that they would have to be rebuilt entirely. Grian’s own shop, the Barge, had been spared from the fire, and Grian spent most of his time trying to help the others rebuild their shops. He couldn’t help the wounded, he didn’t want to plan what they would do next. So he helped in the best way he could. By doing what he loves most. Building.

This wasn’t how the Hermitlands were supposed to be.

He watched as his brother and the mayor together with the rest of the warriors in their lands planned for war. They tried to prepare, both Grian and Xisuma were sure that their brother would return. And so they began to plan their defences. They began to train their people, to trap their lands. And quickly, too quickly, the land that had only seen peace, transformed into a land prepared for war. Grian could see the fear in the people, in his friends and above all in his brother. No one wanted this, they weren’t made for fighting. Despite their own occasional disagreements, they had never had an outright war. The closest had been the so-called civil war a few years ago, but that had been solved with planning and a fair trial. The Hermitlands didn’t know true war. The chaos, blood and death. But they were quick learners and quick at adapting. After all, they were the most advanced nation to ever inhabitat Mojang. And despite what anyone might think, that didn’t have anything to do with the two former Watchers living there. It was just the product of teamwork and unyielding efforts. So they would solve this the way they solved everything. Together.

This wasn’t how the Watchers were supposed to be.

Grian had watched as Dream swooped into their lands and with a few simple words and actions destroyed their normalcy. And Grian knew that nothing would ever be the same. None of them were Watchers anymore, but Grian and Xisuma owed it to their friends to explain why this was happening, to explain their history. They had brought it upon them after all, however unwillingly it might have been. And so Grian approached Xisuma outside the town hall the day after the battle. To settle things between the two of them before they explained everything to their friends. 

“I want you to explain to me why you stole my memories.” Xisuma turned at Grian’s words, and in his eyes was such great sadness that Grian almost wanted to drop the issue. But he didn’t, he needed the answer.

“I tried to help you,” Xisuma said. “I didn’t want you to go back to the void and see the disruption he had caused. I wished I could keep you out of this.”

“I hope you realize that the only thing you accomplished was endangering me and the Hermitlands.” Grian wasn't quick to anger, and he didn’t like to show it, but as he now realized, his brothers both had an ability to aggravate him like no other. He guessed that was the case with most brothers. “You could have trusted me. You could have asked for my help, but you didn’t. Did you really think that he would leave me be, just because I didn’t remember? If I’d had my memories we could have dealt with him in some other place, of our choosing, where our friends weren’t in danger.”

“I do trust you,” Xisuma said. “Even if you’d remembered he’d still have come here. And we wouldn’t have been able to stop him, he has magic, we don’t. I promise that I only took your memories for your protection. And for the protection of our home.”

“You think I don’t want to protect the Hermitlands as well? Do you think I don’t want to keep him away just as much as you do?”

“And look how well that worked last time,” Xisuma retorted. “Look at where Evo is now.”

Grian was stunned, would he really bring up Evo. As if Grian didn’t know that he had failed his former home. He had loved Evo, it had been beautiful, perfect and his own. A safe place away from duties and watching. “I didn’t think you would go so low, to mention Evo.” His voice was uneven and his red eyes simmered dangerously. 

Xisuma softened. “I’m sorry, what happened to Evo wasn’t your fault. But you can understand that I don’t want the same to happen to my realm.”

“Your realm? Your?” Grian was rigid, was Dream right? Did Xisuma only care about his own life? Grian had thought that they did this together. “This isn’t your realm, we both agreed when I came down here that this was both our home. This is our shared home, our shared kingdom, but not as rulers. That’s not our place and it has never been. Watchers don’t rule, they observe.”

“Well, we’re not Watchers,” Xisuma said. “You are right though, it is our home, and what’s important right now is protecting it. We need to put our differences aside, you and me, the Resistance and H.E.P. In the end we’re all Hermits and we need to unite.”

Grian knew he was trying to change the subject, because this was such an Xisuma thing to do. Distract with words. But he didn’t point it out. Xisuma was right after all. What mattered was Hermitland. So he allowed the new subject. Arguing right now would only tear them down and that wasn’t what they needed. They loved each other, but more than that they had a shared love for their home, and that was what bound them together.

“The others will want to know why Dream came here for us,” Grian said. “They will want to know why our eyes are glowing.”

“Then let's tell them.” Xisuma looked out over their district from where they were standing at the town hall. “They deserve to know. And if Dream’s coming back, they need to know what they’re facing. Speaking of, I already told Joe, I asked him to do me a favor, and he needed the information.”

Grian raised an eyebrow. “I assume he isn’t here then?” Grian had suspected that Xisuma wouldn't be happy without knowing what Dream was up to. After all, they had been Watchers. They were used to knowing everything, seeing everything, and being kept in the dark was something none of them fancied. 

“I sent him to the west, through the barrier. Since I created it, I can control it. I opened a part of it for him to let him through. He will be our spy.”

“And how are you planning on communicating with him then?”

“The barrier only stops humans, Joe has some well trained dogs, he can use them to keep us updated on his progress.”

Grian was hesitant, it was dangerous and risky. And if Dream ever so much as suspected a connection, things wouldn’t look good for the dogcatcher. But Joe was clever, and one of Xisuma’s oldest friends in Hermitland. Even if Grian didn’t trust his brother in everything, he knew that Xisuma’s priority always was the safety and prosperity of the Hermitlands and its inhabitants. And so he didn’t question him. For now. Both their thoughts drifted to the west, to their last brother, and they wondered how things had gone so wrong.

“Hey,” Xisuma said after a while. “He doesn’t know about the nether, does he?” Grian didn’t need to ask to know that they were talking about Dream, it was heard in the other’s tone. But Dream was obviously aware of the existence of the nether and Grian gave a questioning look. Xisuma clarified. “I mean he doesn’t know what happened to it, he doesn’t know that you created it?”

Grian looked away. The nether was another creation gone wrong, another one Dream had helped destroy, this time without knowing it. “No,” he said. “Would it make a difference if he did?”

Xisuma bowed his head and a sad look filled his eyes. “It wouldn’t, I’m afraid he wouldn’t care anymore.” 

The conversation silenced again, and they found themselves in an accepting silence. The time for peace was over, and as two of the three brothers went to explain to their friends who they were fighting and just how vicious he was, the third was soon going to have a strikingly similar conversation with some of his friends, in his realm. But was it really a war between two nations and three brothers? Or was the true war one that each brother fought within themselves, one that would affect all the worlds? Since the beginning, it had always been the three of them, together over the world, that was how it was supposed to be. But now nothing was how it was supposed to be, the Watchers interacted, the peaceful became hostile. And the forgotten earth was falling apart without supervision. 

An era was coming to a close and no one knew who would live to see the next one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I'm blown away by how many people have seen and supported this story. A thousand hits is insane and I'm so incredibly grateful! You are all amazing <3
> 
> I am so excited for the next chapter, it's one that I've been wanting to write for such a long time now! I hope you will like it too. It will be called "A Tale Outside of Time". We also go back to Dream next chapter, so say goodbye to the Hermits for now. Maybe, just maybe the origins of the Watchers will be slightly mentioned... You will see in a day or two or three (depending on how much time I have the next few days)
> 
> Until then, thank you so so much for reading, and all feedback is really appreciated. I get so happy reading your thoughts!
> 
> Stay safe, I love you!


	11. A Tale Outside of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the truth! Or semi-truth because Dream never makes anything easy! 
> 
> Also starring: more internal human problems and George! He has finally been found folks! (I really missed writing about George)
> 
> (This chapter is also known as the chapter where Dream is scared of a door)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> I think I've had a minor case of writers block, but that's hopefully gone now.  
> Also, my boyfriend gave me some great ideas for a plot point in this story and it's so good so I have to implement it! If you have ideas, feel free to tell me, I might get inspired. 
> 
> I have another kind of new thing to tell you at the end but for now, let us get into the story about how Dream has wonderful friends! (Also, we reached 25 000 words, quite epic indeed)
> 
> Enjoy <3

Dream woke up to the sun and the not so lovely sound of Sapnap screaming obnoxiously right next to him. He opened his eyes to see Sapnap sit cross legged beside him while ripping grass from the ground to drop it over his mask. He looked a mess. His hair was tousled and he had heavy rings under his eyes. His clothes were rumpled and he hadn't changed since they got back. But the big smile on his face made that seem like nothing. When he saw that Dream was awake, he stopped his screaming, which Dream now suspected might have been an extremely poor attempt at replicating the sound of a bird.

“You better have a damn good explanation, unless you want to begin the day by avoiding my axe,” Dream said with a raspy voice. He needed some water.

As if reading Dream’s mind Sapnap held out a bottle towards him and let him take a few clunks before saying anything. When Dream lowered the bottle he saw that Sapnap’s previously cheerful display had changed into a more somber one. “I was looking for you, because George woke up and we talked. We think it’s about time you explained some stuff to us. And also… He was worried you’d get hurt. And I… I wanted to say, well I wanted to apologize to you.”

Dream just looked at him. He seemed to have tried to say that as quickly as possible and his gaze was stubbornly stuck in the grass while he fiddled with something in his hands. As if he felt Dream’s gaze he suddenly looked up and his gaze settled on Dream’s throat with widened eyes. Dream’s hand flew up and he realized that Sapnap must have seen the wound he’d received in the battle yesterday.

“What happened? Did you get attacked?” Sapnap said, looking truly confused as to how Dream had acquired a cut. “Why hasn’t it healed like your wound did last time?”

Hadn’t it healed? Dream felt around the wound. Sapnap was right, it was sore and covered in dried blood and dirt. His magic should have patched it up while he slept.

But right. 

Memories of the day before flooded back to him and he remembered the barrier he’d felt when he’d healed George. He hadn’t healed, because his magic was running low. Which meant it would have to be tended to the human way. He grumbled slightly about the inefficiency of human health care and decided to ignore Sapnap’s question. He didn’t really feel like disclosing the details of his lost battle. After all, it didn’t mean anything. It had been a moment of confusion, a moment of weakness because of the human within him. He just needed to push it away. He needed to reconnect with his spirit as a Watcher. It was just the absence of the void and his magic getting to him.

“That doesn’t look good, you should ask Bad to look at it,” Sapnap said while standing up and offering a hand to help Dream.

Dream promptly ignored the hand and rose to his feet in a smooth motion. He guessed it couldn’t hurt to have it cleaned. And he did need to explain his magic to the ones who had seen it. It would be better if he explained it and they understood the gravity of the situation than if he just left them to ponder about it amongst themselves. At least, that was what he told himself, but for some reason he felt as if he owed it to George and Sapnap to explain. Despite everything, Sapnap had been right about at least one thing yesterday. They had followed him without asking questions. They had trusted him even though he’d barely told them anything. And George had gotten injured, George had almost died. And they still seemed to stand by him. What had Sapnap just said? George was worried that Dream had gotten hurt. The thought almost made Dream laugh. George had been on the brink of death just a few hours ago, and he worried about Dream? Dream wished he could stop the thought that it was such a George thing to do. Because he shouldn’t know that. That meant he had gotten to know people, and maybe, just maybe, they had gotten to know him too. But he couldn’t stop the thought, and he didn’t regret getting to know George and Sapnap. But it couldn’t last. Whatever spark of understanding they had between them would break. He would leave it. Because Watchers didn’t have friends and they certainly didn't interact with humans. 

And so, these conflicting thoughts continued to swirl in his head as he and Sapnap walked back in silence.

\---

Dream was certainly grateful that Sapnap had been quiet on their way back, because his thoughts were relentless and demanded his constant attention. But at the same time, the silence worried him. It was obvious that there was still tension between the two of them since their fight yesterday. And frankly, Dream hadn’t the slightest idea on how to close the gap. Did he want to close the gap? No. But at the same time he absolutely did. 

Human minds really were awful.

As Sapnap pushed the door to the hospital wing open, Dream finally managed to get his mind under enough control to focus on the task ahead. But George’s bed was empty and unmade. Instead, Dream’s eyes were drawn to the door on the opposite side of the room. The door to Bad’s room, which stood slightly ajar and from the inside of it, laughter and conversation could be heard. Sapnap walked towards the door without hesitation, only stopping to wait for Dream who stared at it as if he was going to attack it. Maybe he was, after all, he had a tendency to attack everything that could give even the smallest sense of peace and happiness. Because if he settled down and found peace in the Land of Dreams, maybe he would lose his cause. And if he lost his cause, he would become human. So maybe this simple door scared him. Because when Sapnap backtracked and with a sigh pushed him towards the door, when he walked through it into the warm light of a fireplace and was met with George and Bad, each sitting on a couch opposite each other while covered in blankets, he walked through so much more than just a door. Entering the room meant exposing his heart, mind and soul to utter humanity, and he could only hope that it would resist it.

But enter he did. Because he had to. He would say he did it because it was his duty, because he was a Watcher and Watchers didn’t fear, they didn’t avoid. They simply observed without judgement, without personal involvement. That’s how he would survive this.

George and Bad turned when they heard the door creak. Bad had his hood down, but the mask still over his mouth, and George cradled a teacup between his hands. And their eyes stuck to him. Dream had stopped in the doorway, unsure of what to do while Sapnap closed the door and walked to murmur something to Bad, before slumping down next to George with his feet at a small table. At Sapnap’s words Bad’s eyes immediately went to Dream’s cut.

“Dream, here, please sit down,” Bad said hurriedly while standing up himself. “Do you want me to clean the cut on your neck?”

So that’s what Sapnap had said. “Yeah, go for it,” Dream said, while making his way towards the couch Bad just left. He threw some glances over his shoulder towards the door, at Bad - rummaging around in some drawers, at Sapnap - lounging on the couch and taking up way too much space, resulting in George kicking him off the couch. Anything except looking at George. Dream wasn’t sure why it was so difficult to meet George’s eyes, but he knew that if he looked at him, all the memories from last night would overwhelm him. He’d almost let George die, and no doubt had Sapnap and Bad told him about it.

Dream sat down on the couch

After a minute of supremely awkward silence which he really wasn’t used to in the company of these people, Bad came back with a box of supplies and started cleaning Dream’s wound carefully. No one asked how he got the wound and for that he was grateful. For a while, they all just sat in silence while Bad finished cleaning Dream’s wound and Dream knew that they all waited for him to talk. But the silence didn’t feel pressing, it felt nice, comfortable. And it made him want to speak. When Bad had finished he put away his box and came to sit on the same couch as Dream. For a moment, nobody moved. 

And Dream looked up at George.

George looked back. He didn’t look mad, he didn’t look happy either. If anything he looked tired, and he shot Dream a small smile, filled with reassurance. He was okay. Then he let his eyes fall to Dream’s neck and he looked at the cut with an unreadable emotion flashing through his eyes, and he shifted. He was sitting on the couch, feet tucked in under him with the blanket around his shoulders. His hair was tousled and he cradled the tea mug in both his hands. Beside him Sapnap laid. He had his hands under his head and his feet thrown over George’s legs. He looked up into the roof, glancing Dream’s way from time to time. Then Dream’s glance drifted to Bad who sat on the other side of his couch with his knees up by his chin, his arms going around his legs. He looked unsure of whether he should be there at all, despite it being his room.

Well Dream should just get it over with. He rose from the couch and began pacing the room, feeling all three watch him. He wasn’t used to being watched. He was used to watching himself. And during the weight of the three pairs of eyes, he wondered how the humans could be so oblivious that they hadn’t felt the Watcher’s eyes on them. Maybe somehow they could. And maybe that stare, the eternity watching them, seeped into their dreams, their judgement and their souls. Maybe it helped them feel like they weren’t alone.  
Now they were. And Dream needed to explain to these people why.

“I’m sure you’ve figured out that I’m not a mercenary from the north like I said when I first met you,” Dream said. “I’m not from Mojang at all.” No one reacted and Dream took that as an incentive to continue. “What I’m about to say will surely sound mad and I don’t really care if you believe it or not.” 

He paused, trying to gather his thoughts. And then he started at the beginning. “When the universe was created chaos ruled. And the first rule of this universe is that it always strives for balance. So in the middle of nothing, in between the existing time and space, something emerged. An emptiness that was out of reach for anyone and anything in the natural realm. This place was called the void, it was not like anything ever seen before, a defect in the universe. But at the same time, it wasn’t really this universe at all, but a seperate one, parallel to this one but with a thin layer in between. From the fabric of this void three beings were created. They came from nothing, and suddenly they were, and had always been, and would always be. Three Watchers who had one purpose. To balance the most chaotic place in the universe. A planet called the Earth. They could watch through this layer between the worlds like a one way mirror. And watch they did. Forever. Without beginning, without end. Because time didn’t exist in the void. Nothing changed. Until one day, it did. And that’s when my story begins.”

Dream talked. He talked until his mouth was dry, until his throat hurted. He told them about his brothers, about their realms, he told them about Evo and Hermitland. And he told them about the Land of Dreams. He told them about magic and Earth and eternal life. But some things he found it best to leave out. He left out how his magic was running dry. He left out how he had ruined Evo, how his brothers loved life more than anything. He didn’t mention anything about why they had abandoned Earth, some things were better left unsaid, and he was scared. Scared how they would react if they knew everything. Scared that they would - like his brothers - leave him. That, however, wasn’t anything he would ever admit to himself.

He didn’t let anyone interject. Even though Bad looked like he wanted to a few times. He just kept talking, because if he stopped, he wasn’t sure he would begin again. It felt weird. He felt exposed. Like he had laid his soul bare in front of them, and in many ways, he had. When he finished, he stopped his pacing and turned to look at them. Trying to gauge their reactions. He found that he had failed spectacularly with foreseeing how it would go when Sapnap opened his mouth.

“So what you’re saying is that you left the world to go fucking apeshit while you three fought it out?” Sapnap said.

“Language,” Bad muttered.

Dream simply stared at him. Was this his reaction? Acceptance? He had just told them the most demented story they would ever hear and that had altered their entire world view. And Sapnap just… accepted without hesitation. He didn’t even question it, or Dream’s sanity. That almost made Dream want to question Sapnap’s sanity. Although, he did do that quite often anyway.

“Yeah, kind of,” Dream responded.

“Is that what you’re focusing on?!” Bad said, looking at Sapnap disbelievingly. He turned to Dream with wide eyes. “Did you really create Mojang? This whole place?”

Dream nodded and Bad grew pale. He rose from the couch and swayed a bit before walking towards his kitchen with a mumbled “I need to process for a while”

“So you’re saying your brothers both created a realm, but didn’t we meet them both in the east?” George asked. “Why are they in the same place? Are they both against you or are you all three against each other?”

Now this question was a bit more precarious. Dream wouldn’t tell them about Evo. It wasn't really because he was scared they would go to his brothers’ side. He knew they wouldn’t. After all, his brothers’ allies had almost killed George. But he didn’t know how they would react if he told them that he had ruined Evo. Would they be scared? Would they judge him? Would they walk away? Well, it was simply a risk he couldn’t take. After all, they knew his secret now. They couldn’t just leave. Right? Logically he had known that it would be a terrible idea to tell them his story, but they already knew about his magic. They might as well know it all. Despite the danger it could bring. Dream, somewhere along the way, had learned to trust them. And he didn’t know what to make of that. Even though he didn’t know Bad, he had been necessary to tell, because he’d seen the magic too. 

It felt good to have told someone. Too good. And that wasn’t good. Why did he want to tell them? Why did it feel secure when he had just done the most dangerous thing he possibly could have? Well that was something for later contemplation. “One of my brothers, Grian, created an unstable kingdom. He was irresponsible and impulsive, and it broke itself down. Xisuma later invited him to live in the Hermitlands.”

“Why didn’t he invite you?” George asked.

These questions were getting dangerously close to an area he didn’t want to discuss. Xisuma hadn’t asked him to live in the Hermitlands because Dream despised human life. And he wanted to keep everything that made him a Watcher. He just wanted freedom. But was anyone ever really free? No, these thoughts were for another time. “Because he didn’t think that I was capable of building my own realm. So he tried to trap me there.”

George nodded and looked down again. Sapnap looked at him and then rose from the couch. He walked towards Dream and put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll make sure you don’t have to go back. You’re one of us.” He flashed a smirk. “Let’s show them they’re messing with the wrong people.”

“Dream,” George interrupted, making both of the others turn towards him. He had put down his tea mug and stared right at Dream with hard eyes and a thin mouth. “Despite what happened between you three, they are still your brothers. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Dream’s eyes darkened. “They are nothing to me.”

This didn’t seem to ease George’s mind. He almost looked more troubled now, glancing at Dream with a mix of sadness and worry. He didn’t look at the mask though, instead his gaze fell to the now cleaned wound on Dream’s throat. This time, Dream could read the feeling in his eyes. Nervousness. Dream however, didn’t need to do anything because Sapnap stepped in before him, addressing George. “C’mon dude, Dream’s enemies are our enemies. This is our war too now.” He paused briefly, then a thought seemed to hit him. “You don’t think that he’s lying, right?”

“No,” George said, tone carefully collected. “No, I believe him, for some reason I have yet to discover. And you’re right, we share enemies, we share wars. But don’t you see that we already have a war? The war with L’manburg. And we have been neglecting it. Do you really think we’re ready to enter a war against actual gods? And they don’t even seem to be hostile to begin with! We attacked them, not the other way around. I get it, Dream, I really do. You want revenge. But what about this world? What about this war and this land? Shouldn’t we wait?”

His voice slowly rose higher, and higher until he nearly yelled the words. But he didn't seem angry. Sadness and desperation laced his words. He sounded like someone who was about to lose the grip on the situation. Someone who was scared. And Dream hated to admit that he knew that feeling. He hated to admit that he didn’t want to do this without George. And he absolutely hated to realize that George was scared out of his mind. 

For Dream’s sake. 

Because everything Sapnap had screamed at him the day before was proven right. George would do anything for his friends. Which now included Dream, despite his endeavors to avoid it. And right now, George tried to keep those friends away from this war, because he was scared for their safety. It was all so clear in his eyes. In the way he had regarded Dream’s wound ever since Dream arrived. In the way sadness had filled his eyes since Dream began the story. Like he knew Dream would say something he wouldn’t like. They say eyes are the mirror of the soul, and like the Watcher within Dream made his eyes shine green, in George’s eyes compassion shone stronger than anything else. 

Dream knew that he would have to convince George to join him in this. And he couldn’t do so by using any of his normal methods, he couldn’t threaten or use anger. Because George knew that Dream didn’t want him hurt, otherwise he wouldn’t be alive right now. So Dream would have to try a different way.

“Sapnap, get Bad and let me talk to George privately for a minute.”

Sapnap lingered, and after looking at George and receiving a nod he still seemed reluctant to go. Dream felt an old familiar burn at the sight of Sapnap running Dream’s order by George before leaving. He was the leader. Not George. And despite the liberty Dream had allowed them, they would not forget who was in charge. His orders were not voluntary. He sent a glare at Sapnap (which wasn’t very effective considering his mask, but Sapnap seemed to get the gist of it) and watched the other scurry away to find Bad. And he was left with just George.

He needed George on his side, no matter how much it pained him to admit it. Not because George was an irreplaceable fighter or had brilliant strategies, no he needed George because he trusted him. He cared for him. 

And he couldn’t bear to see his newfound brother leave him too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter down! (Don't worry, Techno and Joe will both join soon enough)
> 
> Please tell me your thoughts in the comments, I absolutely love to read them and I love to discuss with you guys!
> 
> Speaking of that, I created a twitter! If any of you wants to talk to me or anything really, I now have a twitter account called @Avami12! Feel free to come say hi, I would love to talk to you! (I have also done nothing on there because I've never had twitter and don't have the slightest idea what to post) 
> 
> I always have a bunch of stuff I want to say in these notes, but then I forget... 
> 
> Next chapter will be up in a day or two or three, see you then!


	12. Crossroads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little chat between Dream and George, because I've missed George.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> I hope you have a good day and is ready for another chapter of Dream-being-stupid. 
> 
> I don't really have much to say here, because I want to say the important stuff at the bottom. I feel like people focus more there, because you come to read the story and not the notes after all, and when there is no more story, maybe notes are easier to read?
> 
> (Please excuse spelling mistakes, it's late and my keyboard is bad)
> 
> Enjoy!

Silence filled the room when Sapnap and Bad had left. They didn’t look at each other. George sitting on the couch, Dream standing in the middle of the floor looking lost. Neither of them wanted to begin the conversation, so they didn’t. Instead they began a different conversation. One that they also needed to discuss.

“Thank you,” George said.

Dream knew what he was referring to. And he didn’t want gratitude. He didn’t deserve any credit for saving George, and right now he would prefer pretending it never happened. After all, he hadn’t wanted to do it. George shouldn’t thank him, if he did, it was just a reminder of how far Dream had strayed from who he was. And how far he needed to backtrack to fully be a Watcher again. “If you want to thank anyone, thank Sapnap and Bad.” 

“Yes I heard they had a hand in convincing you, but in the end it was your decision, right?” George looked at him, and in his eyes were no malice, no anger, just gratitude and something else. Something Dream hadn’t seen in a long time. Something he wouldn’t acknowledge. Because when this battle was won, when his brothers were back in the void he wouldn’t ever see that look again. He wouldn’t ever need that look again. 

He wouldn’t ever need a brother again.

“What did they tell you?”

George looked away. “Everything,” He smiled and turned directly to Dream. “And it’s alright. Everything's alright. I know that you didn’t want to do it, but you did anyway. That is incredibly selfless of you. Thank you.”

It had been anything but selfless. Dream knew that. All his actions had been led by a selfish desire to keep the people he had started to care for with him. He would have lost everyone if George died. And maybe that was what he needed to be a Watcher, but in a moment of weakness he had been overtaken by fear of never seeing George again. Of being left yet again by George and Sapnap this time. And George wasn’t even mad. This would have been so much easier if he was. Then Dream could have dismissed his reaction as human ignorance and lack of the bigger picture. The greater good. But George didn’t seem to need the bigger picture, and Dream failed to understand how this human put so much faith and kindness into all his actions towards Dream, despite only having known him for a few weeks. Hadn’t Dream made it obvious that his intentions weren’t good? So why did this man, who seemed to be so thoroughly good try to save him from his own war?

“It’s not alright,” Dream bit out despite himself. “I almost let you die.” Why would he ever say that? He didn’t have a reason to apologize, he’d saved George.

George’s eyes softened. “But you didn’t, and just a few minutes ago you told us how you, during all time, have stood by and watched countless humans die without interfering. Because that’s your responsibility. But you didn’t... you didn’t watch me die. You literally went against what you’ve been doing since the creation of the universe, it’s not weird that you were hesitant. So thank you Dream, so much.”

All the thoughts in Dream’s mind seemed to simply stop. That was… A really logical explanation. An explanation that hadn’t ever occurred to him that George would have thought of. One that even Dream hadn’t thought of. He only assumed that George would be upset for almost leaving him to die. The explanation also made him sound really human. Because he had changed something. Again. The changes never seemed to stop. Just like these thoughts. Why did they continue to haunt him constantly? He was getting really sick of it. He wanted to be mad, he wanted to rage and ruin. This uncertainness was a recurring nightmare that became more and more frequent every day. 

He was tired.

Of everything. 

He wanted to talk about it. He wanted to scream into the night. He wanted… something. Just something, and that feeling it wouldn’t go away. The feeling of wanting, wanting his problems to solve themselves, wanting to fly away into the night sky and leave everything behind, wanting a bolt of lightning to strike him down because then at least something would happen. At least he would get away from this. From his mind that refused to listen to his desperate pleas. He couldn’t change much now. But he could change the subject, and hopefully, he could get mad. Hopefully George would say something that filled Dream with the wonderful feeling of rage and the unwavering conviction that he was in the right. Because right now he couldn’t really decide what was right, which was a new and unpleasant experience. 

“Drop it George, that’s not why we’re here.” He pulled up an irritated face. “Tell me, why are you against this war?”

George didn’t look too pleased with the change of subject but he didn’t object, and swiftly changed his demeanor. “People are going to die. Maybe you, maybe Sapnap. We are without a doubt going to lose some people, when there isn’t even a need for a war. They didn’t show any sign of aggression, they don’t even know how to get here. We should focus on defeating L’manburg, because that’s our land.”

“Of course they don’t show aggression. But I know my brothers, they’re gonna strike back. As long as I’m here, they won’t rest. And this war isn’t only for our sake, it’s for the Earth. The Earth needs a Watcher.” 

“I couldn’t care less about the Earth,” George said harshly, before stopping himself. “It’s unfortunate for them, sure, but I won’t put another planet far away from here over my friends. And neither would you. If you cared so much about it, you wouldn’t have left in the first place.”

Dream was taken aback by this. No he didn’t care about the Earth, but he’d really thought it could sway George. Because all Dream had seen from George had been compassion. But this man was a fighter, and Dream recalled their first meeting when George had almost shot him. He started to suspect that he had misjudged the other man a bit. 

When Dream didn’t say anything George continued. “And if we were to fight and win. If no one dies and you manage to trap your brothers back in the void, while you walk free. Where will you go? Do you really think I believe that you will just come back here and live out your days? You are… difficult to read, but even I can notice that something has changed. I don’t know if it was something you heard in Hermitland or something that happened since you got back. But you’re sca-”

Dream’s eyes flared and his hand lit up in green. “Shut up.” 

George quieted abruptly and stared at Dream with wide eyes. On instinct he had brought his hands up to hold before his face, and at the sight, Dream faltered. His hand twitched and the green slowly subsided, disappearing as fast as it came. Trembles ran through his hand and he stumbled to the unoccupied couch and sank down on it while gripping his wrist tightly with his other hand. He hadn’t meant to do that. It had just happened. He was losing himself. 

“George,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”

George got up from the couch and approached him carefully. But to his credit he didn’t hesitate before he sat down next to Dream and laid a hand on his back. “I’m sorry too.”

It was silent for a long time after that. George sat with his hand on Dream’s back and Dream with his arms on his knees, holding his hand until it stopped shaking. And at this time, something changed in both of them. 

George looked at this man, his friend. This war was something Dream wanted to do, needed to do. He needed to see his brothers gone and get rid of the part of him that was a Watcher. George wouldn’t let him tear himself apart while the Watcher and human in him fought for control. And George had driven him too far this time. How he hated to see Dream, usually proud and confident, like this. It was all George’s fault. And he would make sure to bring back the Dream he had travelled through the nether with. The one who’d been happy (even though he’d tried to hide it), who’d been joking. But George was scared too. Just as Dream. Because George cared for him, and he was afraid that, Dream when all this was over, would leave him and Sapnap behind. But maybe, maybe there was a way. Maybe George and Sapnap could convince Dream to stay. If George asked something of him.

Dream, at the same time, had decided to run his thoughts through everything he knew about magic. And it was quite a lot. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Magic was a completely logical configuration, which wasn’t controlled with emotions. It had never been difficult to handle before. He’d never thought he would be happy about the small amount of magic he currently had, but if it had been more, George could have gotten seriously injured. His hand wouldn’t stop shaking, and it seemed to have spread to the rest of him. George’s hand disappeared from his back and he vaguely registered a blanket coming to rest over his shoulders.

George wasn’t upset? Why was he still here? Why didn’t he scream at him? Dream felt the weight of his mask against his forehead and in that moment he wished for nothing more than to remove it. To feel the fresh air against his face and be able to see another person eye to eye. To lay down there, in the safety of Bad’s room and never leave. To stop hiding from the people he wanted to see as friends. He didn’t really have a reason anymore. They knew what he was and he had told them about the eyes of the Watchers. But the mask had become his armor, and it kept them at bay. It was now his last line of defense from humanity.

And he wanted so badly to be able to deny it when he felt his eyes growing wet and the first tear fell down onto his shaking hand. He was so goddamn tired of all of this.

George shifted again, and Dream glanced up at him. He sat up and dropped his hand. He could break down later. Alone. George was turned away from him now, shivering slightly without his blanket. He opened his mouth as if he would say something but closed it again. After staring out into nothing for a few seconds, he opened his mouth again, and he said the last thing Dream expected.

“I will join you and support you in the war against your brothers,” George began. “But I want you to do something for us in exchange.”

Now this chased away all other thoughts in Dream’s head. In exchange? He had just saved George’s life, George couldn’t possibly demand anything right now. Except Dream had just endangered his life. Again.

“I want you to let us teach you the ways of humans. And more what it means to be a human.”

“I know about humanity,” Dream said his voice hoarse, but George didn’t mention it. “Probably more than you do.”

“You know what you have observed,” George responded. “But human nature is so much more than what you can understand through observation. You can’t observe how happiness feels for example, but right now you have the ability to experience it. There is a whole side of humans you haven’t seen, aren’t you curious?”

Yes, maybe Dream was curious about this side. Maybe he wanted to know about emotions. Maybe he wanted to be able to feel them himself without feeling like he would lose everything he fought for.

And maybe that’s why he accepted George’s suggestion despite his mind telling him not to.

Because the feelings he was trying to avoid had already sunk their claws in him, and no matter what his mind told him, he craved more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That concludes the last dialogue heavy chapter for now! 
> 
> I find it harder to write chapters with a lot of dialogue, and I am really sorry if you feel like the quality has gone down because of it. It's just really hard. If you have any tips, feel free to leave them in the comments or message me on twitter (@Avami12). Please don't give up on the story, I will try my best to manage the chapters with much conversation better.
> 
> Also, school has started for me again and that means my uploading schedule might be a bit more irregular. I also have a big exam on Friday, so I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be out. I might still be able to get it out normally.
> 
> Please leave feedback, theories and thoughts in the comments, they really motivate me!  
> Take care, stay safe, eat a cookie <3


	13. Beyond the Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today we serve muffins, a talk with Joe Hills and the hint of a new person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Sorry that this took so long, some unexpected stuff has been going on. But I really loved writing this chapter, it feels like happiness, and it feels nice to give these characters some peace and quiet for once.
> 
> A totally different topic, but I was out for a walk yesterday, and from nowhere I got a breathtaking image in my mind of Dream, singing Into the Unknown from Frozen 2 alone in the void, with green magic flying around him. And I felt like that was important to share with you. (seriously try imagining Dream in Elsa's dress and tell me your day isn't a little bit better)
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Apparently being taught about humanity included a lesson in civility and basic morals, which, according to Sapnap and George, Dream lacked. Severely. That meant he couldn’t go around frightening people, he couldn’t threaten (as much) and he couldn’t be unpleasant to Joe Hills who for some reason still remained in the Land of Dreams. And had in addition to staying, talked his way into a place in Bad’s home. Which neither Dream nor Bad’s roommate Skeppy were very happy about. But it seemed like kicking out this new addition to their clan didn’t fall under the line of civility, and since he actually tried to make an effort to show George that he wanted to learn, he couldn’t make the man leave. 

For now.

And so during the following week, he watched Joe Hills meddle in absolutely everything he could. He tried to talk his way into strategy meetings, claiming his dogs could help attacks. He had asked Sapnap to teach him fighting techniques for three days straight before Sapnap gave in. And Dream was pretty sure that the man had been releasing dogs around the area, because in a matter of days stray dogs could be seen everywhere. And that meant Joe was equally everywhere to capture the dogs. Dream was almost impressed, Joe managed to be everywhere and talk to everyone all while he was capturing dogs. Even though Dream tried his hardest to avoid the man, he was annoyingly persistent. He seemed to want to know everything about everyone. And he really wanted to talk to Dream. Joe had for example at multiple occasions tried to tell Dream about the time he’d tried to farm cactus in a rainbow. Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to take a liking to the man and he showed up even more often than before.

This wouldn’t have been a problem if Dream had been able to focus on the plan to attack the Hermitlands again. He couldn’t just marsh in again, his brothers knew he was coming and they would be prepared. But, as it seemed, L’manburg had finally gained enough confidence to put up a fight. And thus, he hadn’t had time to plan the war against his brothers. Instead, he spent hours scouting the lands, making sure everyone knew the plan, and tried to find a way to get Eret the message that their plan was about to commence. And as the days went on, he felt as if he only got farther away from his brothers. It frustrated him to no end that his brothers were out there, now knowing that he was too. And he couldn’t do anything. 

His frustration wasn’t noticed by the others. George had quickly recovered after his wound. Despite the healing he had received, he’d been left with a fever that disappeared after a few days, and he was as good as new in no time. As soon as George was entirely fine, the small signs of tension still lingering between Dream and Sapnap disappeared. Sapnap seemed to prefer pretending their fight had never happened at all. Still things weren’t quite the same as before. Dream would have thought that by sharing his true origins with the others, they would be frightened and pull away from him. 

But they didn’t.

They did quite the opposite, to Dream’s surprise. They teased him more than before, constantly there with a quip on something he said. Sapnap was also very eager to spar, and he always tried to annoy Dream until he lashed out. Unfortunately for Dream, he was easier to annoy now than before. He still had great self control, but something about George and Sapnap seemed to make all parts of the Watcher in him dissipate. And he could lie to himself about it, but it was clear to his friends that a burden had been lifted off his shoulder. That he was happy about telling them the truth, even though he may not know it himself yet.

Even Bad began to interact with him more: he always waved happily every time they met in the halls and sometimes he would accompany Dream and chat about everything and nothing. These conversations always had one thing in common however, and that was Bad’s roommate who was always mentioned in one way or another. Dream had begun to feel like he knew the man called Skeppy personally considering how much Bad talked about him. 

One time, Bad had even invited Dream to the kitchen to bake muffins, and Dream (for a moment forgetting his lessons in humanity), had simply laughed in incredulity before promptly walking off. He had no idea how Bad didn’t get offended but the man seemed to have the ability to see good in every action. He had however mentioned it to George who had immediately apologized on Dream’s behalf before finding Dream and throwing a newmade muffin in his face. He had also tried to smack Dream with a book, but he realized in the last second that it was probably stupid considering how much taller Dream was. So he settled for a glare. And Dream had found himself laughing again. Because George, short, friendly George with his big goggles on top of tousled hair, tried to look intimidating. But it wasn’t a surprised laugh, like last time. No, it was almost… happy. And at the sound, George’s eyes widened before he smiled mischievously and rushed off yelling after Sapnap at the top of his lungs. 

Without really knowing why, Dream found himself running after. George was nimble but before long Dream managed to tackle him to the ground and they both collapsed just outside an opening door. The door to Sapnap’s home. As it opened, they both looked up from the floor and spotted Sapnap looking down at them with a look that said “Why am I putting up with you two?” Dream retributed by grabbing his leg and pulling, resulting in Sapnap falling on top of George. When they both had finished groaning in pain, George began telling Sapnap about the wonder that Dream was capable of laughter. 

Dream decided to kick them both lightly and got up to walk out of there with the remnants of his dignity.

He wasn’t sure what happened to him. It was like he was constantly in a fog. But it wasn’t like the suffocating fog he had felt before. This clouded his judgement, took away his anger and made him peaceful. That was a word he’d never associated with himself before, and he didn’t like that he was doing it now. And so he decided that it needed to change, which was timely because he had someone he needed to talk to who he was sure could get him out of the pleasant fog instantly.

He went to find the dogcatcher.

It was surprisingly hard to find Joe Hills, considering Dream saw him all the time, when he didn’t want to see him. And he felt irritation clear the fog in his mind as he looked around. Dream shouldn’t go looking for people. Especially not people like Joe Hills, who had done nothing but annoy him. But after a quick mental calculation on what was worst: looking for Joe, or partaking in the frustratingly addicting fog, he decided that it was necessary this time.

\---

After checking the main area of their clan, Bad and Skeppy’s home and a few gardens he finally found the man standing by a lake a bit away with four dogs next to him. Joe didn’t look at the dogs though, and when Dream came closer he didn’t show any reaction. Dream followed his stare to the other side of the lake where a figure stood. It was too far to see the details but Dream managed to make out a white and red shirt and a fluffy mop of blonde which probably was hair, though it was beyond him how anyone could have hair that fluffy. 

“Dogcatcher,” he said sharply to catch the man’s attention. 

Joe jerked and turned around. He stared at Dream for a second, as if trying to recall who he was. “You made me lose,” he then proclaimed.

“Lose?”

“I had a last to blink competition with the fella over there,” he said, gesturing to the figure on the other side.

Dream looked back at the figure. You couldn’t even see his facial features, least of all if he blinked. It probably wasn’t any point in saying the obvious though, and instead he settled for something else. “Look at the direction he’s from. He’s likely from L’manburg, you shouldn’t interact with him.” Dream briefly wondered if he should be worried about himself for not questioning the man’s explanation, but then he concluded that he was a Watcher, he’d seen his fair share of weird stuff throughout history.

“L’manburg. Weird name. Well they’re no enemies of mine, I don’t have enemies here.” Joe calmly sat down next to his dogs. “I’m not part of a clan, I just visit.”

“Then where are you from?”

“The Strait of Joebraltar,” he answered without missing a beat.

Dream wanted to release a sigh, but he knew that it would just satisfy the man. “That doesn’t tell me much, but to be frank, I don’t care.” Dream took a few steps forward so they were next to each other. “Why are you here?”

“My dogs needed some calm, and you can bet that there is none back there,” he looked back towards the main area.

Dream glared at him. “Why are you in the Land of Dreams?”

“Oh, I’m here to help. And maybe exploit the system.”

Dream didn’t really get this man. “What does that mean?”

Joe smiled at him. “I guess you’ll see.”

Something about that sentence struck an uncomfortable cord in Dream. But that was just the effect Joe Hills had on him, and Dream just wanted away. But Joe had said that he’d wanted to help. It was foolish, really foolish to trust a man like this with something so important. But humans were foolish. And besides, what harm could it make if anything went wrong? L’manburg would still fall, one way or another, and Dream would rid himself of the only thing standing in between him and his final goal. 

“You want to help?” Dream began. “Are your dogs good at delivering messages?”

“Perhaps,” Joe answered, he didn’t try to hide the twinkling in his eyes. “With the right motivation.”

“I’m sure we can arrange a situation that will appease us both,” Dream answered and reached out his hand for the other.

And in that moment both of them celebrated. Dream had finally gotten what he wanted. Eret would receive the plan. Within a few days, L’manburg would be at his feet, and the entire Land of Dreams would belong to him. Eret would be king, his brothers would be sent to the void and he would be free. Free to leave humanity behind him. 

And Joe, he got his way in. He had finally infiltrated the Land of Dreams. To say Dream trusted him would be a lie, but he didn’t suspect him. Joe had outwitted a Watcher. But he didn’t get cocky, no he would continue to nestle into the inner workings of the Land of Dreams, he would deliver everything he found out about their plans to the Hermitlands. Maybe he would even warn L’manburg? Then they could fight it out with Dream first and the Hermits would have an easier job later on. 

And on the other side of the lake, the figure watched the two men shake hands. One of them was unfamiliar, but the other he knew about. He recognized his general’s description of the leader of their enemies. The nightmare that haunted their nation. The boy knew he was witnessing something important. And it wasn’t a staring contest (as he had initiated earlier with the man with the dogs). War was brewing, and it was only a matter of time before it reached the walls of L’manburg. 

There was no more time, the boy hurried back to warn the general. It was time for them to summon their weapon. It was time for Dream to fall. 

It was time for them to summon the Blade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the end of the chapter!
> 
> Now, I know this wasn't the most eventful chapter, but I like it. It was fun to write and sometimes these people just need to goof around. And I'm really happy I got to write Joe, it was about time.
> 
> As you can see, the war with L'manburg is coming. And I will warn you that I plan to divert from canon a bit, because it fits my story better. I hope that's fine. 
> 
> The next chapter will be out soon, until then take care! And please tell me your thoughts, feedback and theories in the comments you want to! They really make my day and motivate me! Bye for now <3


	14. The Beginning of the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What will change? Who will win? Who will survive?
> 
> In this chapter everyone prepares themselves for the war that is coming. And Dream gets some new information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Thank you for the amazing support! 1600 hits and almost 100 kudos is insane! I never expected this to reach so many people!
> 
> This chapter is kind of a filler, but it wouldn't make sense to just jump directly into the fighting. It's like a bridge to tie together the fight with the last chapter.
> 
> I also slept five hours tonight, so please forgive any typos I might have missed when I proof read.
> 
> Enjoy <3

In times where the future is uncertain, humans often found themselves looking back at the past. And that was what most people in the Land of Dreams did right now. No matter what happened, they stood in front of a huge change, and there really was no way to be ready when no one knew what to expect. So humans did what humans do best. They escaped into their memories.

George and Sapnap remembered the time before Dream. The surviving, the fighting, the unnecessary bloodshed between the clans. Granted, there was more unnecessary bloodshed waiting for them in the fight to come, but maybe, maybe it would be the last. Then they would simply move on to necessary. Like against the Hermitlands. And they would do it, for Dream. Because he was one of them. Ever since George had shaken his hand, the three of them had been by each other's side.

And it would stay that way.

Bad remembered how his clan had gone from a small tribe at the very edge of the Land, to be a part of the most powerful clan of them all. They hadn’t had much of a choice, but still, Bad didn’t have anything against the leaders of the clan. On the contrary, he considered them some of his closest friends. And he was grateful for the amount of people he had been able to help since joining. He couldn’t say he agreed with everything Dream and his closest confidantes did, but since he couldn’t stop it, he wouldn’t say anything. And now the Lands would unite. Bad wouldn’t fight, but his friends would.

He could only hope that they would be alright.

In L’manburg they remembered too. They thought about the sudden rise of Dream’s clan. Previously L’manburg had been one of the most powerful clans in the Land. But they didn’t bother attacking other clans, unless they were attacked first. They didn’t want war. They didn’t want to expand. They simply wanted to be left alone, to have a safe home. And right now that wasn’t possible, so they would fight for it. With fierce hearts and blazing passion, they would fight. Because they loved each other. And they loved L’manburg. One boy in particular had found his home there. And, that night, the boy with the blond hair made himself a promise. He wouldn't fall. He wouldn’t move. He would stand right there, in between the attackers and his home.

And he would go victorius.

Even the spy remembered. Because he too, had an uncertain future. When the fight was over, when the defense was weakened, his nation would attack. So he remembered how he had entered this path. When Xisuma first had told him the truth about the Watchers. Joe Hills was an open minded soul, but that story had been hard for him to believe. Magic. Immortality. War. It was truly a lunatic story. But according to Joe, all decent people were slightly crazy. Otherwise they would not be fun. And Xisuma, Grian and now Dream, certainly all had their crazy parts. Xisuma was better at hiding it than the other two, but Joe had known him for a long time. And Joe had seen the change in him, he’d seen his eyes light up. So he believed every word. Because he was crazy too. And that craziness had allowed him to trick one of the most powerful beings in the universe. That craziness would lead his home to victory. It didn’t matter if Joe took a liking to some of the people in the Land of Dreams. They needed to go down.

For the safety of his home.

Lastly, Dream remembered. Because he was almost as human as the rest of them. It felt like so long ago, when he’d pulled this land together. When he’d seen Mojang form under his brother's fingers. And maybe it was long ago. But how would he know when time in the void was nonexistent? It felt like yesterday and forever at the same time. However, it wasn’t the memories of the void that dominated his mind. Instead, he remembered when he had first come to Mojang. He remembered meeting George, Sapnap, Punz, Ponk, Joe and the attacker in the forest. He remembered humans. And through his memories he could see how every one of the humans had affected him. That would all change soon. Soon he would be away. Soon he would be free from the prison of humanity. And with that, his mind turned from the past to gaze forward.

He had a war to win.

\---

Before the attack they had one last meeting and Dream, though it was against his wishes, had invited Joe to it. Whether Dream liked it or not - and he didn’t - Joe had been a valuable asset, and it would have been much harder to contact Eret without him. Thanks to his dogs, the process had been much quicker. Eret had been able to deliver a map over L’manburg and a path to the final control room he’d constructed. Now, Dream and his forces just needed to play their part. And so, the meeting room was occupied by Dream, at the head of the table, with George and Sapnap flanking him, as well as Joe, Punz and Ponk all standing around the table and observing the map.

Something had happened however. With the map, Eret had sent a note, hastily scribbled onto a torn paper. It was simply four words, but those words made everyone except Dream and Joe pale noticeably.

_They have the Blade_

“Oh my god, we’re so dead,” George groaned.

“No no no, look at the bright side, he won’t go after us,” Sapnap said, trying to lighten the mood. “Dream is so dead, we’ll be fine.”

Dream wasn’t sure what to make of this. But he wasn’t too happy with what Sapnap just said, even if he could detect the teasing tone in his voice. “What is the Blade?” he asked, looking around at the four people who looked like they just received news of their approaching death.

At that, they possibly looked even more pained, and George exchanged a glance with Punz before kicking Sapnap under the table. Sapnap seemed to take the hint and looked to Dream.

“Technoblade, the Blade, the Blood God. Dude has many names. Basically the best fighter in the land. Pink hair, crown, kills clan leaders. You should in theory have met him at least once,” Sapnap said like it was a normal conversation, despite his facial expression clearly signalising worry.

That description. It was the man who had attacked him in the forest. Who’d tried to kill him. So he was an anarchist. That made sense. And he fought for the enemy. Dream recalled their fight as the pieces of the man’s identity fell into place. He killed the leaders of the clans. So why hadn’t he killed Dream? He’d had a perfect opportunity. Had he too wanted to fight him again? Well, that would be Technoblade’s loss, because Dream would be ready. He would prove that he was superior. Dream’s mind ran through the new information. It wouldn’t be a problem that the other fought for L’manburg. Men like that never chose side, and Technoblade would likely abandon the fight when he’d taken care of Dream. It was a clever move of him, Dream had to admit. The man supported the weaker side, and now they were a bit more even. The sides would battle it out, break down each other and do Technoblade’s work for him.

“But why would Technoblade help them?” Ponk’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Isn’t he against all forms of government. L’manburg has that too.”

“Yes, that’s true,” George said. “But right now they share a common goal. To take down Dream. He is after all the most powerful person in the Land now.”

“Well yes, but-”

“This changes nothing.” Ponk went silent as Dream spoke. “I can handle this Technoblade. We proceed as before and attack in an hour. Prepare yourselves.”

The dismissing tone was clear. And leave they did, to prepare in whatever way they could. Except some of them didn’t. To say Dream was surprised that George and Sapnap stayed would be wrong, on the contrary, he expected it. Annoyed would be a better word. Because they never seemed to listen to him. They did whatever they wanted.

“So when did you meet Technoblade,” Sapnap said while leaning against the table.

Dream didn’t say anything. But of course they would figure it out. He had been silent for too long when Sapnap described the other.

“Better question, how are you both still alive?” George offered, looking considerably more stressed out than Sapnap. “You have to have fought, right? Can you take him?”

“I will win,” Dream answered. “Just make sure no one else attacks him. I want to deal with him alone.”

George and Sapnap exchanged a frustrated glance at how he ignored their questions. “That day when George got hurt. You came back with a wound. Did he do that?” Sapnap asked, standing up from the table.

Dream briefly considered his options. He could lie, but they probably wouldn’t believe him. And it was a cowardly move to just pretend it hadn’t happened. It had been a result of many unfortunate circumstances, but it had happened nonetheless. He had made his peace with that. The other option was to just not answer, but they would draw their own conclusions, and that never ended well. Or he could simply say as it were. Why wouldn’t he really? They knew most things anyway. And they definitely knew better than to doubt his skill.

And Dream’s decision was made. “Yes, he did.” A brief pause. “And he saw my face.”

Despite the other two not having seen Dream’s face behind the mask, he had told them about the glowing eyes of the Watchers. Their faces immediately shifted. Sapnap frowned and a shred of hesitance entered his eyes. George, if possible, became even more panicked than he’d been before, and he started pacing around the room. They couldn’t really be thinking that Technoblade could win? They should know better than that by now.

“I will win, and neither of you will interfere,” he said sharply. It was clear that this was more than just a statement. It was an order.

At his tone they both looked at him. They looked at the mask. And they both nodded. Despite himself, Dream felt a small wave of relief. He didn’t want to have a fight right now, only an hour before the attack. It would only tear them down. The opposite of what they needed. And he was ready, he wanted to fight. He couldn’t wait until he got a hold of L’manburg. Maybe that’s what spurred the thing he said next.

“It’s about time I name a second in command,” he said, looking directly at the other two. Really, it didn’t make any sense, and they seemed to think the same based on the wide eyed looks they gave him. It wasn’t like he would die, or get hurt in the battle. He wouldn’t need a second in command after today, Eret would seemingly be the ruler. Of course, that was just for show, which both Sapnap and George knew, but to everyone else, he would lead. But Dream found that it felt good to leave some responsibility to one of them. He trusted them, they had stood by him. They deserved a sign of gratitude.

“George. If I’m unavailable, I trust you to lead in my place.”

George stood frozen, eyes still wide, while Sapnap breathed out and a huge grin spread on his face. He bounced over to George and jumped onto his back. George, who wasn’t prepared, immediately fell forward and managed to catch himself with his hands and knees.

“CONGRATULATIONS,” Sapnap exclaimed way too loud into George’s ear, while George tried to shake him off.

Dream watched the scene, allowing himself a small smile as George shoved off Sapnap and got up again.

“I… Thank you,” he started, but then his eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. After a moment his face smoothed out and he smiled. “I’m honored.”

Dream nodded in acknowledgement. If George had anything to say, he would say it, when it was time. For now, Dream considered this discussion over. “Now leave. Go prepare. We’ll meet at the gate soon.”

Surprisingly enough they did leave. Without protests. Without questions. And Dream was left to remember yet again. Finally. Finally, he would meet the pink haired man again. Technoblade. The flash of his sword against Dream’s throat flashed into his memory. It wouldn't happen again. He was prepared, and this time, Technoblade would go down. And despite the habit he had created of giving his enemies a choice, he wouldn’t offer Technoblade a place in the clan. Because they were the same. And there couldn’t be two. Not in the clan. Not in the Land of Dreams. Maybe they had different values, different principles they followed. But neither of them would ever bow down. And Dream knew that nothing would change that.

But the time of the Blade had reached its end. The Land of Dreams had a new leader. And Dream would make sure he saw Technoblade on his knees in front of him, before his axe extinguished the light of his eyes for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU for reading!  
> I'm semi-happy with this chapter, it feels a little unnatural and I curse myself for bringing back dialogue this soon. If you have any tips on writing natural dialogue feel free too leave them in the comments!
> 
> If you have any questions, feedback, thoughts or just want to say hi, please do that too if you want to! My twitter is again @Avami12 if you want to talk as well.
> 
> Next chapter will be the war and I AM PUMPED! I can't wait to show you what will happen, it's gonna be great, and horrible hopefully. I love it. 
> 
> Have a wonderful day (or night, in that case, go to sleep), see you next time!


	15. When the Demons Emerge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for a battle to take place.  
> It's time for a secret to be uncovered.  
> It's time for a road to reach its end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy things are gonna start go downhill from now on  
> SO LET’S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD! TIME FOR DEATH!

It had begun.

Dream had given himself one task for the beginning of the fight. One thing he needed to do before locating Technoblade. He was going to do what he did best: create as much chaos as he possibly could. The others all had their own tasks and positions, but Dream had seen many wars on Earth. He knew organized plans never worked. War was chaos in its purest form. War was death, darkness and anarchy. There were no leaders during war. And knowing this, Dream had concluded that the only rational plan would be an irrational one. They couldn’t control the chaos, but they could go with it. They could make it their weapon. And they could disrupt their enemies as much as possible. 

There were many ways of doing this. The key was to create confusion, because in confusion humans lost their way. That meant smoke bombs, fire, ender pearls. Anyone could be anywhere. Nowhere was safe. 

And Dream thrived. 

He felt at home, because in some ways, this was his origins. He knew chaos. He’d seen chaos. He was chaos. This was why he had been created. As a Watcher it had been his duty to govern the most chaotic place in the universe. But he had always been there to save them from it. From themselves. Never before had he been the one to ignite the chaos that rested within every being. He had always kept it within himself. And this was the one similarity he would be willing to admit that he shared with the humans. His chaos was another level, but equal all the same. 

What set him apart from humans when it came to chaos was their approach to it. Humans lost themselves in it. They were dragged back to their more primal days and their instincts took control. They would scream, fight, hurt without reason. Dream on the other hand found himself in it. His mind sharpened and a sense of calm filled him. He had the control. He knew how to manage the unmanageable. It was his natural territory and nothing could overtake him, he didn’t need to fight against it. He didn’t drown like the humans. He rode with the tide. Like a king. 

Like a Watcher.

But this time, as he ran through the walls that had been partially blown up, he didn’t seem to be alone in his alertness. The warriors on his side had been prepared, they orchestrated this chaos and he had given them careful instructions on how to avoid drowning in it. It was no point trying to teach them to handle it. They were humans, and chaos was beyond them. It was too big to grasp. 

It seemed however like someone else was entirely comfortable in the fight, someone standing completely still in the middle of the inferno. The soldiers of L’manburg were scattered, running around, trying to find a place of clear vision where they could reorient themselves. It wouldn’t be long until they retreated. This fight would soon be over. And as Dream walked closer to the calm figure obscured by the smoke, he smiled. 

This was what he had been looking after. Even though he had been distracted a few times when a small boy, who couldn’t be older than seventeen, tried to shoot him with a crossbow from a safe distance away. He had managed to disappear in the smoke, but the boy was persistent. Like a bee buzzing around you, just out of reach. When Dream had had enough he had taken his spare bow and sent off a quick shot towards the boy. It scraped his arm, and a scream of pain could be heard, followed by another yell. 

“Tubbo!” 

A figure came running towards the boy, jumping down from a walkway on the wall and with a clumsy landing dashing towards the bleeding one. When the new person had made sure the boy would be okay, his eyes turned to Dream’s direction. Dream however, had managed to disappear in the tumult and was nowhere to be found. He continued to search for his goal. For the reason he was here and not finishing this battle. He could have done it, had he participated, it would be over now. But he had more important things to attend to.

And as he closed up on the figure he could finally spot the crown resting upon long pink hair. The recognizable proud stance he’d been looking for. He knew Technoblade was aware of his presence. But that was his intent. Let him notice, let him prepare. The outcome would still be the same. Even so, Technoblade didn’t give any signs that he was aware of Dream. He just stood, eyes closed, sword sheathed and a small paper held in his hand. A small smile played over his face and he looked completely content. Like this was his natural element.

There was nothing to say. Not until Technoblade was on his knees before Dream. So they didn’t say anything. Dream charged. It didn’t surprise him in the least when Technoblade turned around, note quickly tucked away. The axe Dream wielded struck into a shield, and Dream pulled it free. Technoblade used that small second when Dream’s axe was stuck to drive out his sword. It hit Dream’s shield and bounced off.

Both of them were better prepared this time. They kept to their signature weapons but now had shields and armor. Dream’s crossbow was fastened behind his shoulders but as the fight began he quickly tore it off and threw it to the side. This time they both knew what to expect. And they had prepared for each other. This fight was inevitable. 

It was a dance of death, hard to keep up with from the outside. They swiveled around each other, jumping, ducking and leaping. Dream felt strangely calm. He knew he couldn’t be beaten right now. But he also knew that he wouldn’t win unless he took a few risks. They were neck to neck, and Dream couldn’t afford being the second one to change his flow. He needed to do something. He glanced around, while blocking off another hit from his opponent. The best way to win was always to use what was around him. And maybe, an opportunity was presenting itself as the sound of running could be heard near them. Someone headed their way. Techno heard it too, and their fight slowed down marginally as they both assessed this new presence. 

“Drop your weapon bitchboy, this ends here.” The figure he’d seen help the injured boy earlier seemed to have found him. He stood a bit behind Dream with a sword in hand, pointed directly at him.

Dream chuckled. It would be all too easy to strike the sword out of the boy’s hand. To drag him into the center of the battle and force Technoblade to work around him, which would give Dream an advantage. He didn’t have to worry about the boy’s safety, but maybe Technoblade would. He had to appreciate the boy’s guts, but he had put himself in a dangerous situation. 

But Dream wasn't the only one who seemed to realize what the arrival of the boy meant. Technoblade lashed out and shoved himself onto Dream’s shoulder, spinning them around. Dream’s axe wasn’t usable that close and he pushed the man off with his hands. Unfortunately, Technoblade had already achieved his goal. They had switched sides and the boy now stood behind Dream’s opponent instead.

Technoblade kept his back to the boy while sneering at him. “Get out of here, the grownups are fighting.”

The boy looked majorly offended and opened his mouth to retort. But as he did, Technoblade spun around, and with a quick motion lifted his mask. Dream couldn’t see his face, but the boy silenced and with a last withering glare at Dream he ran off. Technoblade spun back, the mask back over his eyes. But he’d been too late. Dream’s axe dug down into his left shoulder, not too deep, but deep enough. Technoblade couldn’t muffle the pained grunt, and Dream’s eyes shone. This was it. 

Dream continued to lash out relentlessly, forcing Technoblade back. The only sign of stress on the other being his mouth, pressed together tightly. Dream smiled beneath his mask. He had the upper hand, Techno was injured, no one would come to his aid. The sound of the other fighters had quieted and they had probably retreated to the final controlroom. Dream was busy, but George could lead their allies there. George and Sapnap would attack and crush this rebellion once and for all. The two of them would take down L’manburg, and he would take down Technoblade, whose blocks were becoming weaker as his shoulder hurted. Before long he was pressed against a wall, Dream’s axe by his throat.

“Well this isn’t nice,” he said simply.

Dream frowned. Why wasn’t he frightened? He was on death’s door, and he was beaten. Dream had beaten him. 

“While we’re both still here though,” he continued as if it was a normal conversation between two acquaintances. “I found a note this morning that I think you would be interested in. Caught it from a dog running past the walls. It’s in both of our interest that this note never reaches the one whom it was sent to.”

Was this a bad attempt at stalling for time? Dream snorted and lifted his axe. Should he kill the man here or back at the base? He could just strike him unconscious. But no, the other would surely find a way to escape. It would have to end here. Now. Technoblade moved his hand slightly and Dream pressed the axe towards his throat in warning. He wouldn’t give the man time to grab an enderpearl. Dream let his shield hang across his arm, and with the unoccupied hand he pushed his mask to the side. Technoblade had already seen him anyway. And his bright eyes met the ones of the other man as a manic grin lit up Dream’s face. He raised his axe.

The world was filled with pain.

Dream fell to his knees. A burning pain spread from his side and he looked down to see a dagger piercing him before pulling out again, right between where his armor was fastened. His head hit the ground and the mask was partially pushed back over his face by the force of the hit. He managed to angle his head slightly back and behind him, with a triumphant look in his eyes was the boy. How had he managed to sneak up on him? He looked into Dream’s visible eye and he grinned. A sly grin all too similar to the one Dream just had. Dream’s eyes closed. He’d never felt anything like this before. This agony. It was a white fire in his veins spreading and poisoning his body. He burned, he froze and then he burned again. Maybe he screamed. Maybe he was silent. Maybe the world disappeared. Maybe he felt Technoblade take a step over him and say something to the boy before gripping Dream’s shoulder and pulling him up.

“-leave the note I found with you.” The voice was blurry. Could a voice be blurry? No but it could be unclear. But that was almost the same as blurry. So Technoblade had a blurry voice.“I don’t want another nation to invade, your friends will surely know how to take care of it.”

What was he talking about? Nation? Invade? Was he helping? Dream managed to open his eyes again and he saw Technoblade stand above him. A small smile was visible on his face. It wasn’t exactly happy, it was just… Justice. And with a last look, he turned around and left. Wait. No. The fight wasn’t over. The pain was beginning to numb, he could continue. But as the pain numbed, everything else did too. He couldn’t feel, he couldn’t think. Was he in the void? No no, he had done something important. He had just had a thought. Where did it go? He needed to get back. Why did he feel warm and cold at the same time? He could solve this. A deep breath. But no air reached him, did he breathe? Maybe. A pleasant haze filled his mind, warm, cozy and shrewd. It was nice, it was familiar but still unknown, it was goodbye. It felt wrong. 

Through his hazy mind one clear thought emerged.

Was he dying? It wasn’t possible, he was a Watcher. Watcher’s couldn’t die. They were immortal. Eternity. And they were full of magic, the very material that made up the universe. He still had some magic left, he should be able to heal himself. 

But he was tired. He didn’t have much magic. He couldn’t heal. But maybe he could get more magic? He just needed to call out to the void. Could he go back to the void now? He didn’t need to, the magic would come to him. It was new, nothing any of the Watchers had ever done before. But as Dream sat against the wall in L’manberg, dying, he reached out. And he felt the void reach back. It came towards him like a magnet. Flying into Mojang. Into time and space. It was peculiar, to be able to feel the magic of the void in the human world, in his human form. But it worked. Power began to fill him. Magic began to fill him and the remaining haze dissipated.

He couldn’t stop.

More magic flowed into him and his body started to heal itself. The wound closed itself. Even the scar from his last fight with Technoblade disappeared. His strength slowly returned. But it continued. He couldn’t stop it. He tried to will the magic away, to push the power of the void back where it came from, but it was like trying to push a mountain. It had entered into the real world, and it couldn’t return. More magic filled him and he felt its energy tear him to shreds. A scream tore through him, but he didn’t hear it. He didn’t hear anything except the raging magic within. He couldn’t control it, it easily slipped out of his grasp. He was blind, but when the sparks began to fly he could feel them. The magic was him. He was the magic. And he was ruined. Because somewhere along the way he had passed a line. A line between human and Watcher. He had both, but one of them was dominant. And magic didn’t belong in humans. Magic didn’t belong in this world at all. And now it didn't belong in him. He tried. He failed. And he felt the exact moment when it all flew out of him and the world collapsed. A burst of green, then another. It spread like a wildfire under the ground, a pulsating net covering L’manburg.

Then the void was gone, and at once, everything exploded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we stop at a cliffhanger, fun!  
> So I kept the intro short because I figured you wanted to get into it. I hope it makes sense, and you understand. This was quite a big step, but it will be explained furthermore in the following chapters.
> 
> Also where was Joe during this chapter? That's something to think about... 
> 
> This chapter was really exiting for me and I hope you all feel the same. In the next chapter, we will find out how everyone fared during the explosion! Until then, please tell me about your thoughts, theories and feedback! I'm so curious to hear your opinions!
> 
> Thank you for all the support! I love you, take care and stay safe <3


	16. Where a Road Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the fight George and Sapnap are left to find out who survived and who didn't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO!
> 
> This is quite a long chapter and I will now go cry in a corner and hug a lamp for what I wrote.  
> I hope that gives you an idea of what to expect!
> 
> Enjoy! (or you know, maybe don't, because this is too much sadness to be enjoyable I think)

George could pinpoint the exact time when the ground around them started to shake. He, Sapnap, Punz, Ponk and Eret had just subdued the leaders of L’manburg in the final control room. And on their knees were now three people. The general, Wilbur Soot, a hard glare in his eyes as he proudly kept his head high. He had angled himself so he would be slightly in front of the other two. To the left of him was a young boy with a bleeding arm who looked panicked and desperately scanned the enemy soldiers. For what, George didn’t know. And lastly, a man with a lighter uniform than the rest of them, whose lean features brought the mind to a fox.

But right as they were going to bring the prisoners out of there a rumble began. George looked around, frantically trying to find any explanation. But then the rumbling stopped, and for a moment everything was completely still. 

Then the sound of an explosion brought them all to their knees. 

This wasn’t a part of the plan. With a quick order to keep the prisoners in there and stay safe, George ran off the way they had come from. He could briefly hear the sound of Sapnap yelling after him, but he didn’t stop. He ran. Ran towards the ladder to the surface. And when he closed up to it, he could see a blinding light coming from above, covering the ground and sparkling in the air like electricity. 

It was green. 

The explosions disrupted the ladder, but luckily it was still possible to get up to the surface. And George waited for the green light to fade before hurrying up. Above, the world was in shambles. Craters covered the ground, leaving next to no grass left. L’manburg was destroyed. George looked around in shock. How could this have happened? What could cause an explosion of this magnitude? And Dream, where was Dream? The thought of Dream, being up here during the explosion made him cold on the inside. Was he still alive? The last time George had seen him, he had battled Technoblade and George had run to Sapnap to tell him that they would have to handle the final control room by themselves.

George began to shake, he had to find Dream. He would tell Sapnap to keep an eye on the prisoners and then go search for their leader, and Dream would be safe. Because he was Dream. He would be safe. A sudden yell turned his gaze back to the ladder. The boy seemed to have gotten away from their soldiers and scrambled up the ladder, Punz right at his heels. When the boy got up he quickly looked around the area with panic in his eyes. Punz was up right after him and gripped the boy’s shoulder firmly. For a moment, all three of them stood in complete silence at the chaos around them.

And then heart wrenching scream filled the air. A guttural sound never meant to come from a human. As George turned around he saw the boy fight against Punz’s grip and try to run towards a body on the ground. George looked to the body and after a moment of hesitation he signaled Punz to let the boy go. As soon as he was free, the boy was practically shot as a bullet towards the body and George slowly followed. As he got closer he could see the boy shake the body gently while whispering panicked words between his tears.

“T-Tommy, Tommy please wake up. I can’t do this without you Tommy. Please. Remember what we said? We would fight together, we would get through this together. D-don’t leave me here alone.”

George stopped a short distance away, now clearly seeing the body of a boy - Tommy - on the ground. His eyes were wide open, blue as the sky and he had a small smile left on his lips. He had a multitude of small wounds covering him, and blood covered the right side of his abdomen. The other boy continued to shake him while begging him to wake up. But George knew that it was too late. Maybe the boy knew too. Maybe he just didn’t want to acknowledge it as he helplessly tried to bring the boy back. George’s stomach turned at the sight. Neither of the boys could even be adults. And one had already lost his life. Because of them. Because of their war. A war that had no place for boys like them.  
George took a step forward and the boy looked up. He was a mess - with tears streaming over his face, ruffled hair and blood on his hands from gripping Tommy - but when he spotted George he immediately jumped in front of the body, as if he just now remembered that he wasn’t alone. As if he could save the boy by protecting him from George.

“G-get away from him,” he hissed between hiccups. 

George looked at the other with a sorrowful glance and stepped back again. “It’s too late,” he said. “I’m sorry, I really am. He was too young to die.”

It was futile and brought no comfort to the boy, but George didn’t know what else to say. In the boy’s eyes, this was his fault. And the boy would be right. George’s side had attacked them. George’s side had caused all this pain. George’s side had caused the death of the boy’s friend. 

He expected the boy to lash out at the words, but he didn’t. It was so much worse. 

His face fell, as if he truly couldn’t comprehend the mere possibility that the world could keep spinning without Tommy in it. He looked back and reached out a shaky hand to grasp Tommy’s and he felt the coldness of death meet him. Undeniable. Unchangeable. Unrelenting. He opened his mouth and a broken sound came out. It sounded like nothing George had ever heard, and he wished the boy would scream instead. Because anything would be better than the pure agony he showed. Anything would be better than to watch the boy gasp after air as he choked on his tears. Anything would be better than seeing him fall down beside the body, looking as if he wished he was the one who’d died, just so he wouldn’t need to feel this pain that the absence of the other left behind. That he wouldn’t be alone in this world.

And George couldn’t do anything. He could simply watch as the young boy fell apart before him. As he lost a piece of himself that would never return. George was helpless here. But he could grant the boy one thing. One thing that might not ease the pain, but could bring some semblance of comfort. Someone to share it with. And George turned around to see the others climbing up from the control room and signalized for Sapnap to bring forth the general, who looked disbelievingly at the body on the ground. So as the general was allowed to run forward to the broken boy, as he took him in his arms and let him cry while he himself broke down silently, George left. Because he didn’t want to see the schock, the pain and the boy who had lost his life far too early. He didn’t want to hear the previously proud general Wilbur Soot stumble over his words as he tried to keep the tears at bay to console the boy in his arms. He didn’t want to see what they had caused. So after telling the others to watch over them, he left to find Dream. 

He could only pray that he wouldn’t find him like the dead boy, gazing up on the sky with his last smile forever etched into his face.

And he didn’t. Instead he found him safe, but unconscious. The explosions seemed to have gone around him as he was laid in a perfect untouched circle. Still, some debris had reached him, and he had tears and wounds covering him. George had no problem admitting the relief of founding the other unharmed. Or mostly unharmed, but the point was that he was alive, the battle was over and they had won. Still, George couldn’t feel happy. Not when he could still see the face of the boy fresh in his mind. But no matter how the image prodded at him, he couldn’t think of that now. He couldn’t rest. He was the second in command.

And there was work to be done.

\---

Dream had been asleep for a long time, that much he was aware of. The second thing Dream became aware of was a presence. Something was there, something was close. It felt familiar, but still somehow wrong. Like it didn’t belong there. He couldn’t really put words on it. What he could say is that it wasn’t good. Something really bad had happened and his mind struggled to recall how he had gotten here. 

Where was here by the way? The last thing he remembered was running through L’manburg looking for Technoblade. This place was clearly not L’manburg. It was dark around him, with a small source of light emitting through a window in the corner of the room. He was warm and comfortable, and after looking down on himself he saw that he was swept up in white sheets. Was this a hospital? What had happened? He felt over his face and let out a relieved sigh when he felt the mask covering his face. 

He sat up in the bed he was in and tried to orient himself. The memories were slowly coming back to him. Did they win? Well of course they did, but where were the others? And Technoblade, they had fought. But how had it ended? And most importantly: How had he ended up unconscious in a hospital bed?

The sound of a door was heard and a sliver of light brightened the room. Sapnap walked around the door with a candle in hand, illuminating the room and making it recognizable as Bad’s chamber. This place seemed to be a reoccurring place where Dream ended up to have heart to heart discussions with the others, and he didn’t like it. At the sight of Dream awake, Sapnap perked up a bit, but it was impossible to ignore the heavy bags under his eyes.

“Hey, good to see you up,” Sapnap said with unusual calm. 

“What happened with the battle?” Dream saw no point in exchanging pleasantries, and he knew Sapnap wouldn’t either.

Sapnap sighed and closed the door. He walked around the room and lit a few candles standing around. Dream felt impatience grow and just as he was about to snap at Sapnap for making him wait, the other started speaking. “Bad said you’d passed out from extreme bodily pressure, whatever that means, but you’ll recover fully. You just needed some rest.” He walked towards Dream and sat down at the foot of the bed. “But for a quick recap. We won, L’manburg is destroyed, many injured but only one dead. A boy from L’manburg. You’ve been out for a few hours.”

Dream pondered this. L’manburg destroyed? The hint of a memory resurfaced. Pain. Knife. A boy smiling down at him. The magic of the void filling his body, slowly tearing the world apart. And suddenly he could place the presence he felt around him. It felt like the void. But how was that possible? The void had disappeared. But it still felt as if it was here, close, pulling him in and pushing him away at the same time.

Like it had anchored itself to this world.

Fear struck him for a moment. What if it pulled them all back? Could it do that? For a moment the thought about being dragged back to the void plagued him. Meeting his brothers, facing all he had done. Being forced back into the guise of a perfect being, leaving no excuses for every awful act he had committed. But the void had repelled him, hadn’t it? The magic had been uncontrollable, so he wouldn’t be pulled back. The void didn’t want him. That sent him spiralling down another rabbit hole of worry, but he could think about that later. He could think about everything later.

“Where is George? Where is Eret? And the citizens of L’manburg?”

Sapnap looked at him sadly. “George is trying to organize everything. He’s been working non-stop since the battle. I’ve been trying to help him, but he wanted me to be here when you woke up. Eret is resting up somewhere and the citizens of L’manburg… Well they’re in L’manburg. Or what’s left of it. And they have nowhere to go, it’s fine.” He added as if he knew Dream would protest. “We can deal with them some other time, for now there is more urgent business.”

Sapnap took out a note from his pocket and handed it to Dream. It was crumpled, folded unevenly many times and as Dream carefully opened it he found pristine handwriting.

They’re going to war with a smaller clan in their lands.  
L’manburg, stupid name, is it not? Afterwards Dream  
will turn his eyes towards our home. Strike them while  
they’re weak.

Dream read the note multiple times. Anger rising up inside him. He looked up to Sapnap, who watched him curiously. 

“We found it when we found you. We don’t know where it’s from or who wrote it, but it sounds bad.”

Dream could hear the question in his words, and his thoughts raced as his memories returned. “Technoblade had it,” Dream said suddenly, remembering the other’s words. “He said he took it from a dog.” Dream silenced for a second, putting the pieces together. “Where is Joe Hills?”

Sapnap was caught off guard. “I… I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since before the fight.”

Dream threw his legs over the bedside and started to look for his shoes, a deceptive calm resting around him. “We seem to have been betrayed.” 

See, when it came down to it, Dream didn’t really care about things other than getting his revenge. Or at least that’s what he told himself. He didn’t care about L’manburg, he didn’t care about the injured soldiers or the dead boy. He only cared about his goal, his freedom. Granted, some things managed to slip through the cracks. Some things managed to stand out and make him feel certain ways. Technoblade, George and Sapnap and somehow Joe Hills too. Because Joe Hills had always been an excruciating thorn in Dream’s side. From the night he’d shown up, when George had gotten injured. To how he had nosed his way into absolutely everything. And Dream had never been able to put the aggravating feeling Joe Hills gave him into words. And he hadn’t been able to do anything about it. But now, things finally fell into place. Joe Hills was a spy of his brothers’. And right now Dream had no problem in admitting that he cared about the downfall of Joe Hills. He had no interest at all in denying the delightful hatred that spread through him at the thought of the man. He was finally justified in hating him, and nothing could stop him from tearing him to pieces when the time was right.

And for that moment, he forgot the second fight with Technoblade. He forgot the unnerving presence of the void. He forgot everything, except his utter joy. From Sapnap’s perspective, he must have looked demented. They had discovered a traitor in their midst, and still Dream was smiling like a madman. But Dream was happy, because nothing was easy anymore. Nothing straightforward. Except this. Because if there was anything Dream knew with perfect clarity, it was that he finally had a valid reason to get rid of the most annoying part of his life and hurt his brothers at the same time.

The Land of Dreams was united. The only thing left was to regroup and attack the Hermitlands. And he just found a great pawn he could use against them. Why kill Joe Hills when he first could get a use out of him?

He heard Sapnap trying to continue to explain what had occured after the fight, to ask him what had happened with the explosion, to ask him what was on his mind, but Dream didn’t bother to answer. He had just been handed the perfect ploy to use against his brothers. He would have to thank Technoblade next time they saw each other. But first things first. 

He had a dogcatcher to find and another war to win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sad and I apologize (and still I will put in more death in future chapters)
> 
> So I know this didn't cover all of the characters, but we will see more of how Joe and Techno are later on. I really hope this chapter isn't too confusing, it was a bit hard to pull together. I also made myself sad while writing this chapter so I will go and watch some wholesome compilations of Tommy and Tubbo.
> 
> Next chapter or the one after that will be a Hermit POV chapter. (Also! It's been more than a month since I posted the first chapter yay!)
> 
> Please leave comments of your thoughts, feelings and theories, they make me really happy and help me improve my writing! You can also talk to me on twitter (@Avami12) if you want that! My dm's are always open
> 
> I love you, thanks for reading and stay safe <3


	17. With Fire and Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is... hard to summarize  
> In the aftermaths of the L'manburg war Grian and Xisuma feel the presence of the void, and for Grian it's painfully familiar. But when has he felt it before?  
> A dog comes with a worrying note and the author is trying her best to tie a bunch of secretive plot lines together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO, I've missed you!  
> Sorry this chapter took so long to get up, in my defense, it's 3600 words and was complicated to put together. But now it's up and I'm happy! I love writing Grian's perspective :D
> 
> Oke, I hope you enjoy <3

It was obvious to them that something fundamental had changed. And they knew they had to act now. There had been two simple but very clear signals that indicated this, and Grian and Xisuma had no doubt that their brother had yet again done something bad. This just seemed to be another level of bad. Really, extremely bad.

The first signal came right before noon, during an otherwise peaceful day when Grian was busy restocking his shop, the barge. At first he thought it was something akin to a heart attack, judging by the violent pull he felt in his chest. Then it was accompanied by something else and fear struck him deep. He dropped everything he was doing and ran out of the barge while clutching his chest, desperately searching for Xisuma, for anyone. But he didn’t make it far. When he was out on the main street he fell to his knees and an immense pain filled him. A scream could be heard, uneven and full of pain. But it wasn’t his, it wasn’t Mumbo’s, who had been nearby and rushed forward to Grian to make sure he was okay. It was a hauntingly familiar voice, and the fear in him grew. It wasn’t possible that it was Dream. But while he heard the scream clearly, it still seemed far away. Subdued, like from another side of a wall. But oh, what a horrible scream it was. It sounded like his brother was teared apart, and Grian found himself worried despite it all. The pull in his chest continued growing and then suddenly it just stopped. Froze in his chest, there but not growing.

And then the second sign manifested.

The second sign was thankfully more straightforward. A giant pillar of pure green light filled the sky in the west, spreading out at the top like a deformed mushroom. (Grian would know, by now he was very familiar with mushrooms) And since he’d been watching humans for quite some time and was also a prime example of a human himself, he knew that whatever that was hadn’t come from a human. Although, everyone with a bit common sense could figure that out, Watcher or not. It seemed however, like Mumbo in this case lacked said common sense, since he, after helping Grian up and steadying him, exclaimed.

“Blimey, that must have been one heck of a bath bomb.”

It didn’t hit Grian until later that his friend might have attempted a joke. In Grian’s defense though, he had been wholly distracted by the pull in his chest and fear of what his deranged brother had done this time (and Mumbo hadn’t really grasped the difference between a sarcastic and normal tone) to really consider if Mumbo was being serious or not at the moment. He was simply frozen, staring at the beam of light that now slowly started to fade. Well whatever that meant it surely couldn’t be good.

His certainess on that point only grew as the pull in his chest didn’t disappear, it only lessened slightly. It felt like it settled in, carefully resting against his heart. The void always close, just like the old days. He would have to double check, but he was fairly sure that Xisuma would feel the same. And it wasn’t good, that was for sure. Especially since he’d had a similar feeling before. And if they were the same… No, he wouldn’t think about that. He wouldn’t consider the possibility of those situations being the same.

After reassuring Mumbo that he was okay, Grian left to find Xisuma. Deciding he didn’t want to travel by the nether, he flew instead. A few years ago some of their finest technicians, Impulse, Doc and Mumbo, had worked together to engineer a safer way to travel than the nether. Well, they said safer but what they really meant was more fun. They had created the elytra, humans had finally gotten wings. It was a wondrous invention that Grian really couldn’t explain, but as long as it worked, he didn’t care. Despite the efforts to create safe travel, the elytra could be remarkably dangerous to use if you didn’t know what you were doing. And unfortunately many inhabitants in the Hermitlands didn’t have a clue what was going on 73% of the time. They did however have a good pain tolerance and an ability to adapt to most things, so with time they all learned. Grian adored the elytra, but right now, he couldn’t find any comfort in the flight. Thoughts of the void had taken over his mind and he was frightened. So he did what he always did when something from their time as Watchers reoccurred.

He sought Xisuma’s help.

Because he had always found that Xisuma was the wisest of the three. The most rational and collected, which was really helpful in situations like these. Grian was wildfire, raging and endless, never content. He burned bright, with a warm passion, a happiness in everything he did that engulfed everyone around him. It was truly a wonder to see. He was warm, he was open and with his radiance he could grasp any situation.

Xisuma was different. He wasn’t a fire at all. He was the calm and flowing water that ran in the rivers. The water that gave life to humanity and the lighthouse in a dark sea. Maybe he didn’t have the same intensity as Grian, but he had other ways. He considered, waited and had an impeccable patience in everything. Except maybe when it came to his brothers. But water could be just as devious as fire. It just hid it behind false promises of softness and safety. It was dangerous, more so when it was underestimated.

And Dream. Dream had both. He was a flame, wild and unpredictable like Grian. Able to burn with chaos and passion, brighter than a sun. But he also was water, deceiving and cunning. He would always find a way to slip out of a grasp. He always found ways. But he had something else, something neither of his brothers had. A coldness around him that kept everyone at bay. It was hard to point out, but everyone could feel it. The imposing aura around him warned everyone that he was danger. In its purest form.

So if the Hermits main goal now was to defeat Dream, Grian needed Xisuma. And Xisuma needed Grian. Because if anyone could understand Dream, it was them. Or at least it had been, maybe it was different now, judging on the look Dream had left with last time when one of his allies had been injured.

As Grian arrived at Xisuma’s home, not too far from his own, he wasted no time. He needed to find the other right now and the easiest way to do that, was by letting Xisuma find Grian first. Grian dug through his bag with materials he always had with him, and after a few minutes of shuffling and gathering some color from the flowers in the jungle, he had put something together that was bound to be noticed. He flew up to the highest peak of Xisuma’s home and launched his newly made rocket which soared up into the sky and exploded in a cacophony of colors. Grian snickered to himself. He could almost hear Xisuma’s heart rate spike at the sudden noise. And granted, it wasn’t really nice to Xisuma as he probably already was worried sick about the feeling of the void (and the green explosion if he’d seen it), but Grian reasoned that it was good for both of them to let out some steam and that he was just helping.

Sure enough, he soon spotted Xisuma gliding towards him with his elytra, looking quite exasperated. Grian assumed that meant he had done a good job at catching the others attention. He would have to remember this strategy for future annoyances.

Xisuma landed elegantly, going from flying to walking in a motion so smooth it was nearly impossible to see when his feet hit the ground. Or roof to be specific. Beneath the initial exasperation Grian had seen, he could now detect an intense worry on his brother's face, mirrored on his own. They both felt it, and Grian knew Xisuma had seen the explosion now. And he was scared. Just like Grian, he was absolutely frightened. They sought support in each other, but neither of them had any to offer. They simply stared in uncertainty and fear. A sudden thought striking them both. Grian’s previously happy thoughts died down, and Dream’s scream resurfaced in his memory.

“X-” Grian began. “Is… Is this our fault? If not for us he would have never come down here. He wouldn't be a threat to our friends and this certainly wouldn’t be happening.”

“No,” Xisuma said firmly. “It’s my fault, not yours. I made him like this.”

“You know, you don’t have to spare me. I left him too”

Something about this had finally struck a chord. Dream was at fault, but they were too. They created this monster. They left him. And no matter how much happiness it brought them, Xisuma wasn’t sure now. He wasn’t sure if it had been worth it. Dream wouldn’t kill them, he would never kill Grian or Xisuma. But the humans around them, their kingdom. Those he would not hesitate to burn to the ground. And maybe Xisuma had made a mistake. Maybe it was his fault. But it didn’t matter anymore. What’s done is done. Dream’s business was with only them, and if he dared to attack any of the Hermits, Xisuma wouldn’t hesitate to do what it took to keep them safe. He couldn’t afford to have these memories and feel sentimental. He had to forget any hope of reconciling with their brother. He had been naive when he thought that he could solve this with his usual peaceful methods. Because whatever had just happened, it wasn’t good, and it was because of Dream. So they had to fight Dream the way he fought them, with ruthless determination, otherwise, they stood no chance of winning.

“You’re right,” he said. “We made a mistake, but we’re happier because of it. Our priority should be to protect that happiness and the safety of our friends. That we made a mistake, doesn’t justify any of Dream’s actions. He doesn’t even want to be a human to begin with. We’re past regret. He will never forgive us, it’s not in his nature.”

Grian nodded slowly, looking as if he’d expected that answer. “And what about the void? What happened?” He feared he knew, but he wanted Xisuma to answer. He wanted for Xisuma to tell him he was wrong, and tell him the real answer. But he wouldn’t. Because X was wise, Grian had already established that, and that meant he knew when he wasn’t qualified to answer.

“That’s more your area than mine,” Xisuma said, and Grian closed his eyes. “It’s clearly a form of magic, but it’s emotional too, it’s not concrete.” He smiled a bit. “And you’ve always known the strongest emotions out of all of us.”

Grian really didn’t want to hear that. Well, it was flattering and that was always nice, but it felt like if he said his suspicions, they would come true. Obviously, that wasn’t the case, were they true, they would be so regardless of whether he said it or not. But he was stuck in that sweet feeling of denial, that humans so often found themselves in. Unfortunately, that couldn’t last. If what he suspected was the case, then it was bad, exceptionally bad. And they needed to handle it now. The problem was, he didn’t really know how to handle it. But that’s where Xisuma came in hopefully.

“What do you think?” Xisuma said.

A sudden sadness filled Grian as he remembered why the presence of the void next to his heart was so familiar to him. He sat down on the roof, letting his legs hang over the edge as he collected his thoughts. “I think he made a mistake,” he then said quietly. “I think he accidently tried to channel too much magic, too much for his human form anyway, and the void was drawn out of its… hinges.”

“So where is it now?” Xisuma feared he already knew.

“It’s here,” he said, looking straight at Xisuma. He pulled it down. But it can’t interact with the physical worlds so it’s separated by only one dimension. Just like the nether.”

Xisuma looked panicked. “That’s impossible, how could he-?”

“It seems like he’s still clinging on to the Watcher within him. He might have called on his Watcher form, then the void wouldn't let him go.”

Xisuma cursed, and started to pace over the roof. “What does that mean for this world? And for the Earth?” He sounded like he didn’t want an answer, but maybe that was only from Grian’s perspective. Because Grian didn’t want to give one.

“I don’t know.” Grian became thoughtful. “I don’t think the Earth needed the void anyway. And this world… Well nothing good. I don’t know what would happen if a human tried to go there. I don’t even know how it would be possible to travel there at all, but I would guess there is a way.”

“Let’s keep it that way. If it’s in another dimension then the people here will be fine.”

“Well,” Grian said. “Dream probably doesn't want it here either. Maybe he can reverse it? We control the void as much as the void controls us.”

Xisuma thought about that for a moment. “That’s true, but the void is only linked to us through the part of us that are Watchers. And I fear that the Watcher’s inside us, at least you and me, are almost dead. And Dream isn’t far behind. If we lose contact with the void, we can do nothing.”

They silenced and Grian felt the presence pulsate with his heart. He hated it. And he didn’t need to see the look in Xisuma’s eyes to know that his brother pitied him. He didn’t want it. There was nothing to do except continue forward. Get to Dream and banish him, or if need be, kill him. Grian felt the anxiety in his chest rise at that. He didn’t want to kill Dream. For one thing, he wasn’t sure they could, and for another, they were brothers. They loved each other, right? He had failed the other before, the least he could do now was find a peaceful solution. Killing Dream would have to be the last case scenario. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.

A loud bark interrupted Grian’s thoughts, making both of the men jump out of their skins, since the bark came from above. They had quite enough to deal with and flying dogs was just one thing too much. Fortunately, the dog in question wasn't really flying. Instead, they looked up to find False flying towards them with a happy dog in her arms. It had a red collar.

Like Joe’s dogs.

When she landed on the roof beside them, she carefully put the dog down in between them, which might not be the best idea considering they were on a roof. But hey, it was a heavy dog and they were all skilled flyers. They could catch it if the worst happened (but Joe’s dogs were really well trained so it was probably fine) The dog wagged its tail and nosed its way to Xisuma, who kneeled beside it to pet it. False simply stood for a moment, breathing heavily while watching Xisuma and the dog with a rigid face.

“It just arrived at the barrier,” she said. “There is a message attached to its collar but it wouldn’t let me take it, so I just brought the entire dog.”

Xisuma carefully gripped the message at the collar, the dog made no protests, simply continuing to lean into Xisuma’s hand that rubbed its ears. As he got the message, he slowly unwrapped it with one hand and read it. His eyes scanned it multiple times without any expression to show the content of the note. After a minute he handed it to Grian without a word. The only visible sign of discontentment being his shaking hands.As Grian looked over the note he could see hastily scribbled down words. Sentences cut short and spilled ink on the side.

They were at war today  
Dog came back ruffled with stolen message  
I’m running  
They know.

Grian reacted very differently from Xisuma. At least visibly, he didn’t doubt that Xisuma hid some full fledged panic behind his calm demeanor. Grian turned towards the other two so quickly that he almost fell off the roof. Taking a moment to balance himself, he shoved the note into False’s hand before turning to Xisuma.

“What do we do?”

The only answer was Xisuma’s pale face as he slowly seemed to accept that, yes this was happening despite them having much to worry about previously. The world really wasn’t kind right now. His hands flew up to cover his face as he sank onto his knees, muttering something sounding suspiciously like ‘What have I done?’ At the sight of his collected brother losing composure, Grian got even more stressed.

“No no no, we need you right now,” he said desperately. “Break down later. Joe needs our help. And despite me going two for two in our civil wars, those aren’t really counted and I can’t plan a real war. Huh, ironically you can, and you've been on the losing sides in both wars.” As he spoke his words came faster and he simply threw out his thoughts as they came. The words only seemed to make Xisuma curl further into himself. And things would surely have escalated in negative ways, but luckily they had a reasonable person there who managed both stress and wars well.

“We’re going west through the barrier tomorrow morning.”

Both men looked towards False. Her eyes were dark and she grasped the note so hard her knuckles went white. “I want you two to inform everyone around the land who needs to know, send them to the town hall. I’ll talk to Scar about it.” She picked up the dog again and turned around. “Let’s teach these bastards that the Hermit’s stick together. And if they harm Joe, they will have hell to pay.”

With those words, she jumped off, flying away towards the Shopping District. The two brothers were left stunned before Grian momentarily broke out into a laugh. “I almost feel sorry for them. I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of her wrath.”

Xisuma managed a pale smile, but False’s words seemed to have reminded him of the urgency of the situation and he rose. “We need to tell people. One day is not a lot of time for preparation. If I tell the people in the jungle, and False and Scar handle the Shopping District, could you tell the rest?”

“Sure thing,” Grian answered. He needed some time to think and the best time to do that was when he was flying.

Xisuma nodded to him and then took off. Grian stood on the roof for a minute more, looking around at the lands he called his home. Tomorrow, everything would change. Tomorrow they would finally finish this one way or another. And his home could be safe again. But to stand there and watch his current home, brought the memory of another home back to him. One he hadn’t been able to save from Dream. that thought led to another and soon, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the achingly familiar feeling of the presence in his chest.

In the absence of Evo, he had tried to create something else.

He had done it right after he’d lost Evo. He wanted a world. A place to escape to. Something that was his, just like the Hermitlands was Xisuma’s. But when he’d come back to the void after Evo, he’d barely had time. They left so quickly. So instead, he made a mirror dimension. A way to the most beautiful place in the universe according to him.

The Earth.

He had always seen it, it was only logical that he would feel at home there. After all, he had modelled Mojang’s nature and buildings after it when they created it. So he made a way to it. He could access his own world from Mojang, walk through it. See it. It would be exactly like the Earth, just in Mojang. He wouldn’t know it was the Earth because his memories would be gone, but that was okay. He loved it anyway.

But he had done it too well. When the Earth began to fall, so did his mirror dimension. They were too similar. And it slowly transformed, until it was poisonous and infected his heart with a fire. The fire was not like him, no this fire was ruination. His was life. And his dimension was torn away from him. The place it had occupied next to his heart was empty, leaving only an inferno behind. And not then, but later when he got his memories back, that’s when he realized what they had done. They had doomed the Earth.

It was burning, and they couldn't go back. They were still Watchers in a way. Because they were forced to watch the nether slowly burn, and know that their precious Earth was dying at the same time. Because of them. Because they had left it. And they could do absolutely nothing but watch the world burn before them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say it with me: False supremacy. What a woman.
> 
> I really, really hope this wasn't confusing. I felt like I was info dumping way too much. If you need a short summary of the void/nether situation: Basically, when Dream tried to heal himself with magic, he lost control because he's too human. And when channeling that much magic, he couldn't handle it which caused the explosion. But he also couldn't push the magic back again, and instead it anchored itself to Mojang like a second skin. Another dimension like the nether. And the nether is a mirror dimension of the earth, which means it reflects the state of the Earth (you can interpret that as reflecting literally or not)  
> Is that understandable? Am I insane? It's up to you to decide!
> 
> This is actually the longest chapter yet, and I really didn't think that would happen. I just had a lot to say in this, and I'm happy. The Hermits need their screen time too! 
> 
> Please leave feedback if you want to, it makes my day! I recognize most names I talk with down there and I love interacting with you guys so much! Especially when you're passionate about the characters <3
> 
> Long note today, I love you, thank you so so much for reading and I'll see you in a few days <3


	18. The Brightest Heart and Darkest Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dream team has some disagreements about the fight in L'manburg and an argument takes place.
> 
> And two people are after a traitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> It's been a few days and I have been seriously demotivated. It's been really difficult to write and I rewrote this two or three times. But I am back. Thank you so much for your patience and continued support, I truly love all of you <3 To everyone who has left kudos, bookmarked, clicked in on this story or especially commentated, THANK YOU, it makes me so happy <3
> 
> Saying that, I will now proceed with another sad chapter! (but if you're here I assume you like that!)  
> Enjoy!

Sapnap didn’t really seem to have a feel for the atmosphere in a room. Because as Dream swept through the corridors, every step full of a dark determination that matched the night around them, he followed at Dream’s heels. It didn’t really bother Dream, since what he had to say concerned both Sapnap and George. No, what did bother Dream was the casual demeanor Sapnap had. The calmness. Like Dream being mad was just another temporary human feeling.

It wasn’t.

Sapnap should know something wasn’t right. After all, Dream had told him they had been betrayed. Still, this did not seem to worry the other. This made Dream even more annoyed. How nice it had to be, to be able to close your eyes for things you didn’t wish to acknowledge. And such an excruciatingly human thing to do it was. And now Dream could admit that he had done it himself. He had allowed himself to be consumed by humanity. Because of Sapnap and George.

Had Dream not had to accept George’s ridiculous deal about ‘lessons in humanity’, then this wouldn’t have happened. Dream had restrained himself from throwing out Joe Hills because George and Sapnap had talked him into morals. He should have known better than to trust the words of humans. Morals. How stupid. Morals were a concept created by humans so they would keep in line. But who actually decided what was right or wrong? Who had that right? And what if you did something bad for the greater good? Just like with every human concept, morals were simplified and indefinite. But humans couldn’t comprehend that some things couldn’t be summed up. Some things couldn’t be understood. And morals were one of them. They were a net created to trap people in. And he had gotten stuck in it. That was a mistake he wouldn’t make again. Had he just realized that from the beginning, then Joe Hills would be long gone. How could he ever have ended up here?

But in a way, he was grateful. Yes, he was really grateful. Because had they not been betrayed, then he would have continued to fall into the web humanity had begun to spin around him. Maybe he wouldn’t have been able to claw his way out. Or worse. Maybe, he wouldn't have wanted to claw out. Because even now, he could feel the longing pull of humanity. Promises of sweet honey luring him down to the poison underneath. The poison that would slowly tear his body down and drain him of magic and life, until the day he met an imminent death at its hands. That was the only thing that waited for him. An end. And he marvelled at how the end could be so beautiful, so tempting that it even now called to him to let his immortal self go. And some part of him wanted to listen.

So he was indeed grateful.

He turned a corner and strode forward, Sapnap still close behind as they walked out into the night, damp grass beneath their feet. Before them, they could see George, sitting on a bench with his knees up by his chin and murmuring quickly to Bad. His gaze wasn’t focused on Bad though, instead it flickered around them, never stopping for more than a second. 

Bad had pulled down his mask, while keeping the hood on, and in the light from the torches around them his face was illuminated, showing a frowning face and a tense mouth. He murmured something back to George but stopped abruptly when George’s gaze stilled. He followed it and spotted Dream and Sapnap rapidly approaching. George stared at them for a second and then turned to Bad with a quick whisper. Bad looked confused but stood up. With a wave and a smile to Dream and Sapnap he pulled up his mask and waddled away.

When the two were at the bench, George put down his legs as Sapnap plopped down beside him and put his feet across George’s lap. George immediately pushed them off with a glare to Sapnap, who retaliated by putting his feet back. George pushed them off again and brought his feet up to kick Sapnap. It looked like they were about to have a full out war when Dream spoke up.

“Enough.”

In any other case, they would probably have turned on Dream instead. But his menacing tone made them look up, and George took the chance to quickly poke Sapnap’s ribs.

Dream turned to George. “Where is the dogcatcher?”

George hummed, ignoring the harsh tone. “It’s funny you say that, Bad just told me that he had completely disappeared. He had a room in Bad and Skeppy’s house, but all his stuff and dogs were completely-”

“Seriously dude,” Sapnap interjected, earning a glare from George. “He has a name, why do you have to go all ‘dogcatcher’ on him? It’s so much easier to know who we’re talking about if you just use his name.”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

“I don’t know Sapnap, I think it’s pretty obvious who we’re talking about anyway,” Dream said, voice filled with venom. “But I will make it clear. We’re talking about Joe Hills, a spy, most likely sent by my brothers. A traitor, who’s currently on the run. And we will find him.”

George’s mouth fell open and he stared at Dream while Sapnap looked on the ground. He opened his mouth a few times before speaking again.

“And what will you do?” Sapnap said. “If we find him?”

Dream smiled a bit, not that they could see it, but a crooked smirk lit up his face. “He will pay the prize for betraying us. And then… Then he will be of use. My brothers surely care for him, they wouldn’t have sent someone they didn’t trust.”

George was silent for a while. “You will blackmail them with a person?”

“What the hell,” Sapnap exclaimed. “Listen, I know he betrayed us, but he helped us in the war against L’manburg.”

They didn’t understand. They could never understand, because they were not like him. And that was fine. No one was. What was not fine, was that they thought they could question him. They always had, and it was time it came to a stop. “The war against L’manburg meant nothing.” Dream said. “Do you think it was hard to take L’manburg? Do you think anyone there mattered? This matters, and I will do what it takes to win this. I don’t give a shit about anything Joe Hills did to help us, he betrayed me and he will pay the prize. None of this would have ever happened, had you not convinced me to let him stay. That it was inhuman to drive him away. Well guess what, I’m not a human. You best remember that.”

George looked like he debated whether it was worth questioning this or not. Looking away from Dream. That seemed to be all he’d been doing. But Sapnap. Sapnap stood up and met Dream’s eyes with a fire Dream had only seen once before. "Of course L’manburg meant something. I will not let you disgrace us or the boy who died in the battle by reducing it to nothing. Just because you don’t care about this world doesn’t mean everyone else is the same.” His fists were clenched at his side and his voice shaked. He gestured to George. “This is our home, we’ve fought for it our entire lives and L’manburg was the last piece of the puzzle. And we didn’t get it for free, I saw George’s look at that dead boy and I felt it myself. Do you think we could be happy over a dead person? Even if it is our enemy? We’ve seen enough death, and still we help you! But it’s a bit hard when death seems to be all you seek.”

He turned around and gave George a glance before looking over his shoulder at Dream. “You can go look for Joe alone. I will be there by your side when your brothers attack. But not for you. For my home.”

With those words, he left and Dream stared after him. He was stuck in a trance, and for some reason everything had stopped. His body, his mind and the world. And when George got up from the bench with a frown and looked at him, he said nothing. So George left too. The same way Sapnap had gone. He walked slower than Sapnap had though, and threw a couple of glances over his shoulder with blank eyes. For a moment he stopped, and Dream could barely make out the words he murmured.

“It looks like you’re more human than any of us had thought.”

Then he left, hurrying to catch up to Sapnap.

And Dream found himself lost. He hadn’t felt this lost for a long time. And he didn’t even know why. He had been perfectly justified in everything he said. Joe Hills was a traitor, and he had been able to nestle into their midst because of George and Sapnap’s foolish attempts at making Dream human. Wasn’t it obvious that he could never be? He sought for the anger that would usually fill him but it was nowhere to be found. So he chased it instead. Because it hurt. And the anger could take the pain away. But he couldn’t grasp it. It was kept away by the painful urge to run after them, to scream and change. It was an emotion he couldn’t name, but he immediately knew that it was the worst one he had experienced. He wanted to shrink in on himself and hide from the world. He wanted to have them run back even though a voice told him he had no right to demand that. He wanted this to go away. And when his mouth opened to scream, a small sound emerged instead. Quiet, helpless and never heard from a Watcher like him before. So he did the only thing he could do. If he couldn’t look to them for anger, he would find it elsewhere. 

Within himself.

Because if all you feel is hatred. If you find something to despise in everything you see. 

Then the only thing you actually despise is yourself. 

\---

Techno had a few simple points he stood by. No matter what happened around him, these points never wavered. They could always guide him, always stand firm, and he found a relief in that. He didn’t need to have long, convoluted reflections on right or wrong, because frankly, he didn’t care. He cared about his principles. Life could be simple if you wanted to, was something he had decided a long time ago. And the way to make it simple is by doing what you do and leave everyone else to the dust.

Now, Techno was a human, and sometimes, even he could waver. But what was done was done.

It had always been clear to him that Dream had been different. He had a feeling around him that humans simply did not. And when Techno had seen his eyes, it had only confirmed his suspicions. But that didn’t really matter to Techno. He had his principles. However, he couldn’t exactly say why he hadn’t killed Dream that day in the forest. It was stupid, he had failed, but just like Dream he had enjoyed the fight. He rarely met people who could compare to him. Correction, he never met people who compared to him. The thought of fighting Dream again had simply been too tempting. Techno was the first to admit what a stupid slip up that was. Because that was the beginning of a whole bunch of them.

When the green sparks had begun to fly in L’manburg, Techno had been alarmed. Then the ground started to shake, and in a split second Techno had thrown an ender pearl. That was when his second mistake happened. He’d looked around and his gaze had stopped at something. The boy. Tommy. He was looking around confusedly, still with the smile he’d had when he’d stabbed Dream. And even though Techno knew that he had only been on L’manburg’s side temporarily, he couldn’t watch this boy die. And he wouldn’t have to. As he went to shout out to the boy, he suddenly wasn’t there anymore. And the sound of explosions reached his ears. 

Despite his principles, he couldn’t let it go. The smile. The confused look. Everything was burnt into his memories. Because if he’d killed Dream that day in the forest, Tommy would still be alive. 

And upon that, Dream hadn’t died. He’d seen them carry him back. His wounds closed. It was a wonder, truly, and Techno felt a bit relieved. Because even if Dream wasn't dead, he had gained something. Now the attackers from the note he’d found, whoever they were, would be handled. Techno didn’t doubt that Dream would respond to the traitor with ruthless action. And that was good, because it meant that he himself would not have to interfere. International conflicts weren't really his style, and it would be really annoying to have to deal with even more people in the Land of Dreams. Couldn’t he ever get to live in peace?

Apparently not since he the day after the battle at L’manburg met someone in the forest who grabbed his attention. A man with a lot of dogs around him. And since Dream were nowhere to be found at the moment, Technoblade would have to do the deed. It seemed like peace would have to wait another day.

\---

Dream had left at dawn. 

He figured going after Joe in the middle of the night would do him no favors, and Joe would have to rest as well. Dream was confident that he still could catch up to Joe before he reached the barrier. And it was not like the man could be very discreet. He had at least eight dogs with him, probably more based on what he had arrived with. The dogcatcher clearly had some unusual priorities.

Dream wished he could suppress the previous night but the memories kept haunting him, only at bay when the anger refilled him. Hopefully a lot of anger awaited him during this quest. Some part of him wished he didn’t have to go look for Joe alone, but at the same time it was kind of relaxing. He could finally let loose and not restrain himself. Not slow down or hold back. He could be free. 

But free didn’t have the same feeling to it as it had had a few weeks ago.

After taking a horse from the stables, Dream wasted no time. Even though he didn’t know exactly where his prey were, he had a feeling Joe would be easy to find. Someone that boisterous had to be. And so, he just headed the general direction of the Hermitlands. Going there, required passing L’manburg though, and he slowed down marginally as he saw the ruined black walls in the distance. It was weird to think that a day ago, he’d been there. And he’d won. Somehow, his triumph doesn’t feel so bright anymore. With gritted teeth, the words Sapnap had yelled at him resurfaced in his head, like bile, rising in the throat.

Enough.

It didn't take long until he found traces of dogs on the ground. They’re imprinted in some dry mud and lead into the forest. Probably from the day before. The forest could provide some shelter for the night. Joe would surely be on his way now, but he wouldn’t have gotten far since the morning. Dream was closing in. 

But as he rode through the forest, a growing sense of wrongness reached him. He didn’t know if it was because of him as a Watcher, or just his warrior instincts, but something told him he wouldn’t find Joe Hills alone. It shouldn’t matter much though. Whoever it was, Dream could take them. And as the tree’s opened up before him, his suspicions were confirmed. There, in the middle of a clearing, Joe Hills stood. And directly opposite of him were Technoblade.

There really was no reason to be surprised. Not in the slightest. 

It probably wasn’t fitting in this situation, but Dream found himself wondering how Technoblade always managed to show up at the most inconvenient times. It was truly annoying. But somehow the man always stood in his way. Today, it was not a problem though, because Technoblade’s shoulder was still injured from the day before and Dream knew the man was not fit for a fight. Whatever business he had with Joe Hills would simply have to be averted with some light threats. (Dream knew threats would probably be ineffective against the man, but it was worth a try and otherwise, he wasn’t opposed to bashing Technoblade’s head in.)

As he closed up and jumped off his horse, Technoblade looked up. At the sight of Dream, his entire body seemed to make an effort to do the most visible sigh possible. His head tilted back slightly, while his shoulders rose up and fell down again. He stared at Dream for a moment, before spinning his sword for a bit and turning back to Joe without a word. Was this an insult? It probably was, but unfortunately, Dream was a bit pressed on time, and he would prefer to not look into it further. He too, looked at Joe, who hadn’t turned. But from how his shoulders had tensed at Technoblade’s reaction, Dream assumed he had a pretty good idea of who the new arrival was anyway. The dogs on the ground, who had previously stood behind Joe, as if he tried to shield them from Technoblade, now growled and spread out around their owner.

Joe himself turned his head a bit and at the sight of Dream he looked positively distressed. “Apparently I woke up today and the world decided to screw me over. Don’t you hate it when that happens? You both seem like people who would be frequently visited by karma, you have to know what it’s like.”

The joke sounded half hearted but Joe’s voice was firm. Unyielding. Like he had no doubts or regrets. Dream wished he could know what that was like. as soon as that thought came, he pushed it away again and unsheathed his axe with a grim look, hidden from the other two. This was an act, Joe had to be scared. He was going to die, one way or another. Maybe not today, but Dream would personally make sure he didn’t live through this war.

“It will be nice to see my brother’s expressions when they get to choose between your life and their home and stay here,” Dream simply said. “And I will enjoy it thoroughly when I deny them both of those.”

Joe kept his back towards Dream, eyes never leaving Technoblade. “They wouldn’t choose me,” he said and to Dream’s utter irritation, he sounded happy, like he had achieved everything he wanted. What was it with this man? And how did he keep making Dream want to hit his own head in a brick wall? How could he be so… fulfilled.

Outwardly he hummed. “One of them would. One of them would fight every single person who stood between him and you, to the best of his ability. And the other… He would try, he would do anything to protect as many as possible. And he would fail to protect you. It would break him.”

“With all due respect,” Joe said. “And let me tell you: that isn’t much, but you don’t know them anymore. And I don’t think you ever really did. They’re both too good for you.”

Dream looked at him for a second and laughed with disbelief. They really had their friends fooled. Then he turned to Technoblade, who had silently considered the conversation. “I don’t know what your business is with him, but he is a traitor to my clan,” Dream said. “I will deal with him. So for this time, I’ll let you leave.”

Technoblade stood silent for a moment, looking between Joe and Dream. “I think I want to finish my business first.” And before any of them had time to respond, Technoblade brought forth a crossbow from his back, loaded with a red and withe contraption. The other hand with his blade swept out and with a swift movement. And Joe fell. A horrible sound came out of his throat and Dream looked at him with panic. His gaze swiftly moved to Technoblade and at the last moment he saw the crossbow being fired.

The world disappeared in color.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hurt me (I'm looking at you SandDune)
> 
> Don't make assumptions yet though: nothing is set in stone... 
> 
> ...except the text on Joe's grave  
> Just kidding! (or am I?)
> 
> I've had a bit of a tough time the last few days, hopefully that will be fixed soon, but I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be out. But again: Thank you for your patience, I promise I will do my best to get the chapter out here in a few days! I know I'm repetitive but I really just want to thank you all again and again because all of you are so sweet and I love speaking to you in the comments! I am currently thinking about giving out my Discord or making a group chat or something like that if you would be interested. Just ideas.
> 
> Until next time, take care and be safe! I love you <3


	19. In the Raging Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Technoblade left, Dream deals with the consequences, and a panic attack is approaching (this chapter is full of panic)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the wait is over! We will finally find out if I will be spared from the wrath of the ones who love Joe
> 
> I will talk more at the bottom (it's really late and I forgot everything I wanted to say here, might be some spelling mistakes because of that too)  
> Enjoy <3

When the colors cleared Dream was alone with the dogcatcher. Whatever that blast had been, it had shot him backwards and he coughed as he got up from the ground. He could hear Joe’s dogs run in the forest, barking at the top of their lungs after Technoblade. They were just dogs trying to protect their master. They couldn’t possibly know how fruitless it was to try and find the Blade if he did not wish to be found. But two dogs had remained at Joe’s side, and when Dream tried to get closer they growled at him, ears laid backwards and tails in the air.

Until a weak voice called on them. 

At Joe’s call, their ears fell and they went to lay on either side of him. It looked like they were trying to keep him warm. He smiled carefully at them. And to Dream, it looked like they were the only thing in Joe’s world right now. Like nothing else mattered. Maybe it didn’t, for him. He had accomplished what he wanted. But he was still far from old. He hadn’t seen anything yet. There was so much more. How could he ever be content?

Dream stepped forward and Joe looked up. His eyes were tired, and at the sight of Dream he looked exasperated. “You know, I hoped I would be blessed with something nice to look at before I died,” he said. His voice was weak, even though he tried to keep it in a conversational tone. 

“You won’t die,” Dream said with gritted teeth. Making an effort to get to Joe’s side, only to be stopped by low growls from the dogs. He reached for his axe.

“You really are as stupid as you look.” A cough interrupted Joe, and Dream could see blood on his lips. “Of course I will.”

Oh how Dream wished he could deny it. Joe would have helped him win, he needed Joe, and this, this wasn’t any sort of revenge. The man actually looked… happy. His gaze had shifted from Dream to look up into the sky with wonder, calm hands resting on his dogs. Joe would go, perfectly content and still find a way to slip out of Dream’s plan. And there was absolutely nothing Dream could do about it. He didn’t have the magic, he didn’t have time to bring Joe back to the base, and even if he did, it would be too late. Bad wouldn’t be able to fix a wound like that. Dream had seen too many deathly cuts to convince himself that Joe Hills would survive. 

And Joe knew it too. 

Dream wanted to rage, he wanted to hurt Joe in some last desperate way. He wanted to bring this situation back under control. But he couldn’t. Joe was quickly slipping away and still, he was winning. He had everything. And Dream was left with nothing but a broken land, a broken plan and a broken family. Even though Joe had only technically ruined his plan, Dream felt as if all of his hope was slipping away with the man before him. The man who seemingly had everything Dream wanted. Dream failed to understand how he could be the defeated one in this situation, but he was. He’d always been when it came to the dogcatcher, he just hadn’t seen it. Joe Hills had always walked his own way, and Dream had never been able to change it. To take advantage of it.

There was nothing more to say. He wouldn’t fall so low as to hurt the already dying man in a last hope for petty revenge. He didn’t want to, anyway. The rage seemed to have disappeared again, replaced by a numbness slowly taking over. It was unsettling. Just like Joe Hills. And Dream wanted away. So he left the dogcatcher to the worst fate of them all.

Dying alone.

At least that was what Dream thought. But in reality, he gave Joe the biggest gift he could have asked for. Some time for him to look at the clouds with his dogs. Joe said nothing as Dream left, but a burden disappeared off his chest. He was done. He had done it, and now it was the others’ turn. He didn’t know how long they all lay there together, on the soft grass, looking at the slowly rising sun. No thoughts went to war, no thoughts went to the Land of Dreams. After saying his mental goodbyes to his friends, he let it all go. And he spent the rest of his time with his thoughts. He thanked the sky for giving him clouds today. They formed shapes in his mind, beautiful creations flying across the sky. Eyes never closing, taking in as much as they could of the bright sun and the shining world. It was perfect. He wished he could have laughed, but it hurt. It was alright. He had laughed a lot. And he regretted nothing. At one point, he heard one of his dogs whimper and he weakly rubbed its ear.

“It’s alright,” he whispered.

And it was. This was how it was, and it was no point in wishing for otherwise. Everything had worked out in the end, it was alright that he wouldn't see the end product. Something was bound to go wrong, but at least he would only have seen the right. Hopefully he wouldn’t meet his friends in the afterlife for a long time.

He had always been full of life. It was only to be expected that he would run out of it quicker. He had made the best of what he’d had. And with a smile that never left, Joe Hills breathed out for the last time, and finally departed from the living worlds.

And everything was alright.

\---

Nothing else was alright at that moment. Especially not anything remotely close to Dream. It was a wonder really, he didn’t have magic to amplify his emotions, but he still had a form of presence. The void beating next to his heart still kept him away from humanity, and he clung to it as hard as he could. 

It was fine, he reasoned, he could just make a new plan. Joe was bound to die sooner or later anyway. He still had everything he needed to take down the Hermits. But a small voice in his mind protested at that, because going after Joe had cost him something. Something he - or at least he told himself that - would have lost sooner or later too. The trust of his… allies? Associates? It didn’t matter. After the battle he wouldn’t see them again. He would leave, and they… They would do what humans always did. Move on.

There was no reason to think about the aftermath of the battle though. No, he just had to focus on the battle itself, that’s the important part. Everything else could wait. It was unnecessary. It didn’t need his attention. And it was so painfully easy to push the thoughts away. About where he would go, what he would do. Who he would leave behind. All that was distractions from the real issue at hand. Now that Joe was gone, he would need a new plan. They still needed to regroup from the battle of L’manburg. Maybe they could recruit a few more from the surviving soldiers from L’manburg. It wasn’t really needed, most people in the Hermitlands weren't skilled in fighting. But they were clever. And he would prefer to scare them with the numbers of his own forces before going into a fight. Especially if they attacked on the Hermits territory. He couldn’t deny that despite his brothers not being the best warriors, they still had their ways of fighting. Xisuma’s words were poison. He could handle a sword, but why would he need it when his words could disarm so easily, making it effortless for his allies to take enemies down. But Xisuma wasn’t the bigger threat in this. Words on a battlefield were about as useful as a match in the sea. No it was Grian’s ingenious ideas they would have to watch out for. They were dangerous in an entirely different way.

And then there was the rest of them. Dream had seen the girl, who stabbed George, fight. She was skilled, and he was growing sure that she was one of, if not the, best fighter in their lands. But Dream still knew he could defeat her. He knew fighting, he knew duels with flying swords, shields and evasive maneuvers. What he didn’t know was Grian’s mind. And he had no idea of what kind of strategy and weapons Grian might go for.

He didn’t like it one bit.

But they could surely manage. He just needed to think. To clear his brain. It was a weird feeling, because his brain did feel empty, like he had to force his thoughts to come out. But it still wasn’t clear. It was just filled with a fog, one he couldn’t shake away. And he just needed to get back and talk to his frie- No. No no no no no no.

Stop.

He didn’t have those. That kind of attachment was something he wouldn’t ever have. When had he passed that line? When had he dropped his walls so low, sunk so low that the deepest parts of the human ways had reached him? The word hovered at the outskirts of his mind, mocking him with its presence. That would not ever apply to him. Friends was something he wouldn’t have. Because friends were close. Friends were equals. 

Friends were, in the absence of one by blood, family. 

And he’d seen how Grian and Xisuma had found new families of their own. They had replaced him - and even each other - with new brothers. How senseless of them. It meant it would only hurt more when they inevitably lost against Dream. When they would lose another family. But this one would hurt more. They had chosen to leave him. He would make the choice now. And he would not make their mistake, he would not find another family. Why should he? There was no equal to him. He was the last Watcher, the last real Watcher, and humans were nothing. There was no happiness for him to find here.

As that thought passed, memories came back to him. Childish giggling behind him as he went through a portal. A cozy room and a truth revealed. Plans for war together. Muffins, chases, playful fighting. Arms carrying him while he couldn’t walk, soft voices floating around him.

And then: Hard eyes and an argument the night before followed by a soft whisper. “It looks like you’re more human than any of us had thought.”

No, he couldn’t find what he searched for. Yet the laughs they’d shared together wouldn’t leave his mind. And it hurt. But the previous night had shown where they stood, and it was not by Dream. It was a hard truth, but one he had to accept: his friendships could only end in misery.

\---

The sun stood high in the sky when Dream returned and no one was close by to meet him. That was probably good, he didn’t know how he would have acted if he had faced anyone right now. Especially Sapnap and George. How would he explain that Joe was dead, without them believing he did it? He didn’t know why he worried about it, but anxiety clung to him and refused to let go. If only he could go and bury his head in a pillow, in a book or even just watching the Earth. Hiding from the eyes of everyone else. Anything would be better than facing this. But he couldn’t. Because he was a leader and he stood before a war. He needed to drop the issue of Joe Hills, who continued to affect his mind even in death. He needed to stop worrying about George and Sapnap.

But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to leave the stables. So he found himself standing there, next to his horse without knowing what he should do. Could he just stay? Sit beside his horse while it calmly ate the hay beside it? Hide behind the walls of it’s stall from all the prying eyes that always watched his every move. It felt so horribly unsettling to be watched, and for not the first time, he wondered how the humans on Earth hadn’t felt their presence. Or maybe they did. Maybe that’s why they rose temples and whispered prayers. Because they felt the constant gaze of the Watchers. They hoped that somehow, someone heard them. That someone would listen without judgement. And Dream had heard. He had heard it all. He’d seen it all. Had he and his brothers been the gods the humans prayed to? In that case their naive image of forgiving, all powerful deities could not be more wrong. Because Dream had never had any interest in the wellbeing of the humans. Why should he? He’d been put there against his will. What the humans hadn’t realized was that the gods who watched them were exactly as trapped as they were, if not more.

Did the humans feel their absence?

Were they missed?

Or were they never the gods to begin with?

What if there was something else? Something the humans knew about but the Watchers didn’t? What if a Watcher wasn’t the highest power. Despite how the entirety of Dream’s mind violently tried to shove that thought out the way it came, some part of him could not help but feel comfort at the thought. Which created another wave of panic and trying to rid himself of the thoughts. Because he was a Watcher. There was no one like him, and no one could ever reach him. But it was still something reassuring about the notion of something even higher than the Watchers. Something that saw him and forgave him. Something that could find a way out of this that would let him be happy.

He just wanted to be happy.

But happiness could not be found amongst humans, he knew this. There was no one coming to help him, no one watching him. Because he was the only Watcher left. The only true Watcher. Grian and Xisuma had left that path long ago. But the Earth needed a Watcher, and he needed the others gone. Both of those could be solved. No higher power would help him, he didn’t have anyone on his side except himself. So these thoughts had to stop. 

He hadn’t noticed that he was shaking. He hadn’t noticed that he had fallen onto his knees and was sitting with his hands in his hair outside the stall. And when he started to pull at his hair, the pain couldn’t ground him. Was he crying? No sound reached him and he couldn’t feel anything. It was like the floor was gone. But he couldn’t move, dizziness and nausea came over him and suddenly the air was gone. Fingers clutched at his throat and he could feel sharp nails dig into his jaw, throat and collarbone. He couldn't breathe. He ripped off his mask and threw it on the floor. It didn't help. If anything he just felt exposed. Like he’d ripped out his heart for the world to see. 

Away. He needed away. But he couldn’t stand. The images in his mind flew by too fast for him to pick up on anything except the feelings they left behind. The argument the night before. A blast of a firework. A choked sound from a dying man. And Xisuma and Grian turning their backs on him that first time. Alone. He was alone. And he would always be alone. No one would come. There was no higher power. He’d driven away everyone and it was for the best. So why did it feel so-

Hand. On. His. Shoulder.

His hand shot out and without looking at the new person he grabbed their arm and twisted it as hard as he could. The position took away some of his strength but turning around without his mask was not an option. A yelp sounded behind him and the person retracted their arm quickly. His grip was weak and the arm slipped away. 

“No, Skeppy it’s fine,” the voice said quickly. “He’s just scared.”

The voice sounded vaguely familiar and broke through his haze a bit. He heard the words, but he couldn’t make any sense of them. Scared? Who? Skeppy? Another voice answered, but he didn’t pick up on what they said. He just stayed there, curled in on himself, hands now over his face. He heard steps around him but through his fingers he only had a narrow view of the stone beneath him. The steps stopped for a moment before they could be heard again. This time directly towards him. He was shaking again and adrenaline surged through his body, but the steps stopped before they got close, and then something was pushed into his view. 

On the floor below him, he could see a white circle. It had a smile on it and for a few seconds he just stared at it. Something told him this item was good. It would help. He could trust it. With an unsteady hand, he picked up the item and finally recognition sparked in him. His mask.

With shaking hands, he quickly tied it around his face and for a moment, it almost felt as if it could keep him together. Keep him safe. And maybe it could, just not from himself. Before his thoughts returned full force, he made himself raise his eyes to see a familiar hooded figure stand turned away from him while fiddling with his fingers. 

“Bad,” his voice was broken, but he paid it no mind. The only thing important right now was this. Bad was here for a reason, and Dream didn’t particularly care why. Whatever it was, it could provide an escape. An escape from his mind.

Bad turned around carefully, hood and mask up. He slowly lowered himself to his knees and forced his hands still. “Dream,” his voice was quiet and soft, like he was talking to a wild animal. “Do you need help? I can take you to a place to rest.”

This was not what Dream needed. “Why are you here?” he said harshly.

Bad hesitated for a second. “Well, everyone was looking for you, and Skeppy happened to walk past here. He- he saw you and thought you were hurt. So he ran to get me.”

Dream threw a quick glance over his shoulder and saw a dark haired young man stand there. Presumably Skeppy. “I’m fine.” Dream realized how implausible that sounded but the edge in his voice stopped any eventual protests Bad might have. “Why did you look for me? What’s happened?”

Again Bad seemed reluctant. “It’s really nothing to worry about. George and Sapnap can surely handle it. You don’t- you should really rest for a while, you look a bit-”

“Tell me. That’s an order.”

Bad silenced and stared for a second. Then his gaze flickered up behind Dream’s shoulder and he shook his head. “Skeppy don’t, it’s fine.” As Dream turned, he could see the man stare at Dream with hard eyes and a hand on his sword. Dream stared right back, eyes narrowing in a challenge. Who was this man, and why did he think it was a good idea to provoke the leader of the clan? Was he trying to defend Bad or was he just plain stupid?

Bad stepped in between. “The remaining survivors from L’manburg have disappeared,” he said quickly. At Dream’s stoic face he continued. “But there is nothing to worry about, George and Sapnap are after them right now, and they will surely find them.”

They were gone? Where would they go? Their home was ruined. They had nothing. Practically, this was exactly what Dream didn’t need right now, but on the other hand, it gave him something to get angry at. And he’d missed that. On unsteady feet he rose and looked straight at Bad.

“Tell me everything.”

But before Bad could say anything else, two horses barged into the stables. On them were Sapnap and George equally disheveled with wide eyes. They took in the small gathering and Sapnap jumped off his horse. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

“Oh my gosh.” Bad exclaimed. “Are you two muffins okay? How did it go?”

“Badly,” Sapnap simply said.

“We lost them, but it doesn’t matter anymore,” George said hurriedly. “We looked for them in the forest, and we didn’t realize how far we ventured, but suddenly we had reached a valley. With a clear view of the barrier to the east. And..”

“We saw them,” Sapnap said. “We saw Grian and Xisuma with their people.”

It became silent and Sapnap looked around frantically as if asking them all why they didn’t freak out over this. George looked at him and jumped off his horse as well before clarifying.

“They were on our side of the barrier. They’re coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that, that's my demise approaching... 
> 
> I'm sorry about leaving you with hope last chapter but now you get double angst. ...yay? If it makes you feel any better, I am really scared. The comments on last chapter wasn't playing around. If anyone's on my side, please help, I need it. Joe has one hell of a protection squad.
> 
> Speaking of the comments from last chapter, I loved them. You all are so kind and funny and incredible. I was laughing out loud at multiple times! Thank you all for giving me an opportunity to interact with such amazing people! (I know I'm kind of making you sad and stuff, but you make me very happy <3) 
> 
> And if anyone wants to talk, get bad advice or get a hug, here's my Discord: Avami#4191
> 
> Oke (long note today, thank you if you made it here), take care, I love you and I hope you liked the chapter. It felt a little messy to me. Please leave thoughts and threats in the comments if you want to! (also, I'm curious, what's everyones favorite chapter up until now?) 
> 
> Until next time, have a great time and please spare my life!


	20. Flowers Lost in the Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hermits stumble over something they never wanted to see. And the finale battle is slowly approaching as everything goes to shit. (save them, they don't deserve this)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> Again sorry for the wait, it was a hard chapter to write... It's kind of a filler but a necessary one and I really hope you like it. (I had an internal crisis about my writing halfway through but I hope it's good)
> 
> So thank you so so much for your patience and kind words. I am so incredibly grateful to everyone who's reading this! Thank you! Really thank you!
> 
> Enjoy this monster of a chapter (almost 4000 words) <3

The mood between the people of the Land of Dreams and the Hermits stood in sharp contrast. In the Land of Dreams there was chaos. People ran around with wide eyes and flailing hands, desperately planning for the war ahead. The war that could dawn on them anytime from in a few hours to a day. Meanwhile, the Hermits were worried, but calm. They had a plan, right now, all they could do was to wait and see if it would work. If not… Well they would cross that bridge when they got to it. There was no reason worrying when they couldn’t do anything against it. Everything would surely be fine.

But at the core the two nations were the same.

And the core happened to be the three Watchers who all were silently resigned, keeping to their own heads. Despite their differences they all shared the same thoughts at the moment. Thoughts of the war, but mainly thoughts of each other. The last time they had seen each other, the last time they had talked and the feel of the void that pulsated next to all of their hearts. Always a reminder of what they had all left behind. 

So in the middle of the chaos in his lands, Dream were. He had no reason to be worried. He’d always known it was coming, if not now, soon. And there was nothing more for him to do. He was prepared. This was it. The only thing left was to forge a plan, which probably was exactly what stressed everyone else, but it wouldn’t be a problem. They would win. They were always going to win. And he would finally be free.

\---

In the other end of the Land of Dreams, the Hermits moved. Even though they technically were in a hurry, it was hard to move through unknown territory quickly. False and Iskall had quickly shut down Grian’s wish that they would just use their elytras and perform a surprise attack from the sky. Since the two of them - being the best warriors among the Hermits - had concluded that Dream was simply too good of a fighter to risk battling without armor, even with the moment of surprise on their side. And the armor was way too heavy for the elytra to carry. It was better to have a classical attack, that might not be the Hermits strong suit, but they had some ideas on how to turn the tides to their advantage. 

And that the elytras would not be used in the attack, didn’t mean that they couldn’t be used at all. So Grian, being one of the most experienced flyers, went to scout a bit around the area as they marched. The woods were too dense to fly through so he rose up above the trees and into the sky. Up there he had a great view of the grounds below him, even though he couldn’t see between the trees. But something, he did see. Three figures, running through a clearing. He was too far away to know for sure, but they looked like they had seen better days, with torn clothes and disheveled faces.

And since he’d flown away, there was no way for him to know the exact moment the Hermits on the ground found Joe Hills’ body. He was too far away to hear their hearts break.

\---

When they found Joe the sun stood high in the sky and the clouds that had adorned the sky earlier were long gone. The first sign of him had been a chorus of howls and whimpers, spreading through the forest. It was unending, a constant sorrowful goodbye. A plea for Joe to stay. And to break through the dense trees into the clearing and see the dogs in a protective circle around their owner was more than enough to bring tears to the Hermits. But Xisuma wouldn’t believe it. He simply couldn’t believe that Joe was gone. At least until he saw the man's face. They had all stopped at the edge of the trees, until False broke out. She half ran up to the small circle of dogs in the clearing, and as she saw him, her stomach turned. 

False had seen death. She had even caused it, on some rare occasions. But she hated it more than anything. And even more so when she saw it on her friend. On Joe, who had always been so very alive. So filled with energy, as if he was the sun itself. And now it was just gone, it had betrayed him, left him and he was gone. Left was just a shell and empty eyes void of warmth. It was too much. And she hated herself when she turned her gaze away, but how could she possibly see him like that? Her fists clenched by her side. Joe was dead, and she couldn’t even show him the respect he deserved. Pathetic. The only thing she could do was stand there, alone in the middle of the clearing. 

Then the tears came. 

They didn’t fall at first, her body just shook with sobs and she tried so hard to keep them from spilling over. Because Joe wouldn’t have wanted her to cry. He would have wanted a goodbye, and a promise that she would fill her life with the happiness Joe now couldn’t have. But he wasn’t there anymore, he couldn’t ever remind her to smile again. Or anyone else. So as one of the dogs walked up to her and nudged her leg carefully the first tear fell. 

And more followed.

While she stood there, the other Hermits slowly walked up and the dogs parted for them. To let their owner receive a worthy goodbye. So the dogs spread out and went to rest by random people, seeking comfort as much as offering it. Some of the dogs refused to leave Joe’s side though. They lay beside him like they wanted nothing more than to stay, and fall into the peaceful sleep that their owner had moved on to.

And for the Hermits, they found their own ways of grieving. The Hermits loved each other, but deep down, they were also just what their name suggested. Hermits. And in that moment, they all chose to mourn alone. Some with silence and emotionless expressions, while others cried openly with their arms around themselves. 

But one thing, they all did. 

Around the clearing, wildflowers grew in abundance, and one after the other, every Hermit silently made the decision to pick one and put it at Joe’s side. Soon there was a ring of flowers of all sizes, shapes and colors around Joe. It was disorganized and wild. Just like him. And though it was beautiful, it wasn't the kind of farewell he deserved. Because to them, he deserved everything. Every laugh, every friend and every ray of sunshine that hit Mojang. And most of all, he deserved life. And they hadn’t been able to give it to him.

As False lifted her gaze, she could see the Hermits around the clearing. Some sat close, turned towards Joe with tears clearly flowing down their faces. Some sat far away, in small groups, huddling next to each other. Perhaps it was a desperate attempt at filling the hole that had just been ripped open in all of their hearts. It wouldn’t work. And some, some sat far away, at the edges of the clearing. False quickly spotted Iskall, who walked around the perimeter with his sword in hand. Even though he was turned away, his tense shoulders and the tight grip on his sword was clearly noticeable. But still he walked around. He was protecting them as always. Keeping watch, and letting them mourn in peace. 

That prompted a new wave of tears from False. This time of gratitude. And she forced herself to turn back to Joe. She owed it to the ones who’d stayed behind. Even though most of the Hermits had joined them, some of them had stayed in their lands. It was no point bringing those who couldn’t fight. They would only be put in unnecessary danger. So now she had to remember this moment. For them. Because they too, deserved to know how their friend had looked in the end. They too, deserved to know how he had died. And she would give it to them.

So when she turned again she saw a single person sitting by Joe, carefully cradling one of his hands with both of theirs while bowing down their head. False was sure that no one else could see the silent tears that spilled from Xisuma’s eyes. Or the pained guilt in his face that all too quickly consumed him.

She approached him, quickly bringing a few flowers for the Hermits who were at home. After laying them at Joe’s side she bent down, still trying not to look at the wound on his chest. Nothing needed to be said. They both knew. But Xisuma said it anyway.

“This is my fault.”.

There was no point in sugarcoating it. Even though she knew it had been Joe’s decision, a part of her still blamed Xisuma. And she wouldn’t lie to him. “Yes.”

Xisuma put down Joe’s hand and his hands flew up to his face. False simply watched as his whole body was shook with sobs. She couldn’t help him in this, but she wished she could at least grant him time. Unfortunately time wasn’t something they had right now. Not when they were in a war. 

“X,” False began. “You sent him here, and you knew he would never say no to protecting his country. So yes, I blame you. But it wasn’t your sword that took his life, which is why we need to find Dream and make sure he feels the same pain Joe did. This is your brother, your fight. You need to pull it together for our people. For Joe.” 

False was hurting too, but she was a warrior. And emotions had no place in war. Since she was also human, there was no way to keep them at bay, but directing them could be equally effective. It was okay if the others couldn’t bear it right now. They deserved their time to rest and say goodbye. It would be for the best to delay the attack until tomorrow anyway. But as it looked right now, Xisuma wouldn’t be able to bear it tomorrow either. And they needed him.

“I know you don’t want to kill him, but if we don’t, he will continue taking our friends from us,” False said as she stood up. She really didn't want to say the next few words but she had to. Xisuma couldn’t break right now. So the words forced themselves out. “Do you want their lives on your conscience?”

She then left without looking back. Without another glance at Joe. Because in the end, all the discipline in the worlds couldn’t remove the feeling of seeing her friend dead. With the knowledge that he died alone. 

Maybe that made her weak, maybe she cursed herself for it. But if she were going to patch herself together for the fight to come, she had to bury it all. Joe was gone. Forever gone, at least from this world. And in her head, she whispered the goodbye she never got to say. Then she buried it as well as she could. That didn’t stop her tears though, and she furiously tried to wipe them away as one thought dominated her mind.

She would be damned before she let Dream walk out of this alive.

\---

The Hermits stayed in the clearing. After a while, a shadow came over them, and Grian landed. He was in a hurry, for the people he’d met in the woods had offered him help. They were apparently against Dream too. No surprise there really: all decent people were, according to Grian. The people were from a clan that Dream just had attacked, and they seemed to have some insight about the people closest to Dream. After a quick discussion, Grian had offered to find them a temporary hideout in the woods until the attack began. Then they could work together to take the current clan down. Grian had hurried back to share the news with his people.

After a quick scan of the clearing he spotted his brother, still by Joe’s side. And just like the other Hermits, a part of him shattered. Just like False had, Grian found himself alone in the clearing. Simply looking towards the circle of flowers. No one approached him. Maybe they mourned themselves, maybe they hadn’t noticed him. Or maybe they were trying to give him time to collect himself.

He didn’t want it.

With quick steps he approached Joe, and Xisuma who still sat beside him. With a shaking hand he gripped his brother’s arm, eyes never leaving Joe’s face. it could have been hours, minutes, seconds or years they stood there. It could have been back in the void, timeless, observing, unable to do anything but watch as time ticked by for everyone except them and slowly, cruelly brought the humans to their end. But this was so much worse. Because Grian had loved this human. Just like he loved all the Hermits. 

It must have been even more painful for his brother, him and Joe had been close. Joe was one of Xisuma’s oldest friends in Mojang. But then again, his brother loved all the humans. He had cared for the ones on the Earth as well. Always getting a bit too attached. Grian didn’t. But those he loved, he cared for and protected with the fierce passion that fueled his every action. With the raging fire burning inside him that beat along with his heart.

A kindle of that fire was lost when he watched Joe’s body. 

But he had to help Xisuma. Xisuma had always been there for him, and after a quick glance to the side, Grian could conclude that his brother wouldn’t be able to put himself together alone this time. And oh how it hurt to see Xisuma’s normally collected face crack. To see the tear stains and puffy eyes. To hear broken sobs come from his side. So Grian did the only thing he could. 

He steadied his grip on Xisuma’s arm and pulled him into a hug. And the other immediately buried his face in Grian’s shirt. They stood there for a long time, surrounded by the people they cared about. Surrounded by the family they had made for themselves in Mojang. The family their brother now wanted to take away from them.

“How could he do this?” Xisuma whispered. “I… I wanted to believe he could change. I was so certain. But… I’m not sure anymore. Maybe, maybe there really is no place for all of us here.”

Grian gritted his teeth. Truthfully speaking, to kill Joe was something he would expect from their brother. However much it hurt to admit it. It would only harm them to lie to themselves. But apparently Xisuma had kept the hope. And to see someone like his brother, someone like Xisuma, break down, it only put the last nail in the coffin. Grian wouldn’t think it was possible to tear the other apart like this. Xisuma was the strongest person he knew, wise, kind and always knew right. It was horrifying to see this. To realize that in the end, they were all humans. They could all snap. They would, undoubtedly, snap. And Xisuma had reached his limit

For now, he ignored the information about the people from L’manburg. The Hermits didn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, so it could wait. All Grian needed to do now, was to keep this together. Because Xisuma couldn’t at the moment. No one could. His brother had stepped up for him so many times, it was really the least Grian could do, to give him this time. 

Heavens knew that tomorrow there would be no time for grieving. 

\---

Dream was alone as the sun went below the horizon many hours later. They had long since realized that the attack wouldn’t come until the next day, and that left him with a lot of time. Time to think. About everything. And oh, was it a lot, not just from the day but from all of it. His brothers, his allies, himself. Where did they stand?

Everything had passed in a blur since he came back. It didn’t feel possible that this was the same day. It had been so long, it felt like an eternity. So many things had happened but one particular discussion replayed in his mind. He wished he could undo it, erase it from his memory. But he didn’t have that kind of magic, at least not anymore. 

So it replayed again.

When Sapnap and George had returned from their chase that morning and taken care of their horses George had turned to Dream. 

“Did you find him?”

He had almost seemed afraid to ask, like he didn’t even want to know the answer. Because both answers would mean something bad. Either, Joe would be captured and at Dream’s mercy or the Hermits would have received all his intel. And Dream knew that the answer wouldn’t please George. But he would find out eventually anyway.

“Yes.” He could hear his own voice through a filter. Making it muffled and indistinguishable. It felt like someone else was talking with his voice. “But Technoblade found him first.”

George processed this before his eyes widened. “Is he-?”

“Did you kill him?”

Sapnap’s voice cut through their conversation like a knife. Making them both turn to him. George’s eyes then quickly shifted over to Dream, with badly covered up uncertainty behind them.

A small kindle of anger sparked in Dream. “Do you really believe that?”

“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Sapnap said, crossing his arms.

“Technoblade killed him,” Dream bit out. Why he felt the need to justify this was beyond him. “He’s absolutely useless to me dead, why would I kill him?”

At that, George flinched and before Sapnap could retort George spoke. “Stop, we shouldn’t fight amongst ourselves. Right now it doesn’t matter who killed him, what matters is that he’s dead. And his friends are on his way here, they will probably find him.”

“So what?” Sapnap asked. “They already hate us.”

“It’s different,” George said. “Before, we had only done minimal damage. Yes we attacked them, but nothing irreparable. Now we have killed one of theirs, they were probably on their way here for him, I can’t see any other reason why they would attack. And now… do you really think they would just turn back? They will be angry, and in their eyes, Dream did it.”

Silence stretched on as the others took in George’s words. It made sense, of course they wouldn’t just forgive the death of the dogcatcher. “They will try to kill Dream,” Sapnap said after a few seconds of silence. “Well everyone does, they’re not special. I would have killed him three times by now if I thought I could.”

Dream felt his irritation grow. Of course the Hermits wanted to kill him, why wouldn’t they. If they didn’t, they would lose Grian and Xisuma. It was nothing new. But that didn’t change anything, it’s not like they could ever succeed with killing him. No one could. 

“Let them come,” he said. “We will be fine.”

“Will we, or will you? You’re not the only one here Dream, if they attack everyone will be in danger,” George said.

“Don’t they like, suck at fighting though?” Sapnap asked. It seemed as if they had a silent agreement on putting their argument to the side. For now. Dream was sure it would come back later when the situation was less urgent.

“They’re still unpredictable, that’s more dangerous than a skilled fighter,” Dream said.

George looked hesitant, he threw a quick glance between Sapnap and Dream before saying, quiet but firm. “Maybe it would be for the best if you didn’t fight Dream.”

Both of the others’ gazes immediately snapped to George and he cowered slightly. But his statement still hung heavy in the air between them. He didn’t retract it and Dream could feel when Sapnap’s gaze shifted to him. Maybe Dream imagined it, but it looked like Sapnap shifted to stand slightly in front of George. In front of George. Like a protection- That made him snap out of his trance and he looked between the others.

“No,” he simply said, and before he could lash out he turned away and walked out of there.

They hadn’t followed him. During the rest of the day, Dream had watched everyone freak out and run around like headless chickens, but he’d done his best to stay away from them. And now, while watching the sunset, he pondered the discussion that had lingered in his mind during the day. That small movement. Just a step towards George. Like Sapnap had tried to protect him from danger. Protect him from Dream. It felt like they just pulled farther away from him, and he just wanted to reach out. He wanted to be the one who stood between them and danger. But instead, he was the danger itself. 

That would usually please him. Because it was completely correct, he was a danger, and the humans would do well to remember it. But in this case he absolutely hated it. And to see the alarmed look in George’s eyes, to see Sapnap unconsciously bring his hand towards his sheathed sword. It was a punch in the guts. 

Did they really think he would hurt George?

George had done nothing wrong, he had just uttered his opinion. That opinion may be stupid, but Dream expected nothing less from his human frien-

Again.

He’d mistaken them again. They had proved today that he was absolutely not their friend. He didn’t have friends and he would never have them. How many times would he need to remind himself of that. This was the second time that day. For the first time he started to note the feeling of hopelessness that had slowly started to creep up on him. Why would he even want to protect them? How could he get through this, get away from the humans, if he couldn’t even bear to see them stand against him? But apparently that choice would be made for him, because it seemed as if he couldn’t keep people around him even if he wanted to.

Clearly it wasn’t in his nature to be around others. Sooner or later everyone left. First his brothers and now the people he’d begun to call his friends. But now everyone would come. Tomorrow everyone would come to him for the final battle. And he wouldn’t be the one left behind this time. He would finally be one step ahead. 

It was his time to leave.

It should have been all that he wanted. So why did the thought of it hurt so much?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at all this sadness!  
> So while I edited this I had the wildest thought. (Actually no, but it was late and a lot of things seem interesting and wise when you’re tired) The Hermits are the epitome of the saying: We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. While the Dreampeople are “We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.” And I think that’s just beautiful.
> 
> Okay, weird insight time is over. 
> 
> How did you like the chapter? I was really scared of posting this, because it didn't feel completely right, I felt as if something could be done better. I just don't know what, so if you have feedback or constructive criticism, please tell me in the comments <3.
> 
> Next chapter will hopefully come soon! Until then, I love you and thank you so much for reading and interacting. You fuel my motivation and I am so grateful for your patience, I know the schedule has been a bit weird. But things will start happening very soon...


	21. A Clash of Fates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hermits have finally arrived, and Dream is ready. 
> 
> Let the battle begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends, foes and family!  
> (actually just friends I hope, you never know though so it's best to include everyone, welcome!)
> 
> We are back again with a long chapter, they just keep getting longer, but this one couldn't be split in two. Thank you for all your kind words by the way, I really get serotonin boosts every time I read them! And thank you so so much for over 3000 hits, it's an insane amount of people!
> 
> I hope you enjoy <3

It was often seen as an universal truth that you didn’t attack your own allies. Unfortunately, this truth didn’t apply to the Land of Dreams on the day of the battle, as Sapnap had run over at least three people in his manic rush through the halls. On top of that he was screaming at the top of his lungs and ended the escapade by promptly running into a wall.

As Bad tended to the wound on Sapnap’s head (as well as tried to keep the overrun people away from him) the wounded one quickly tried to explain - to a quite worried Punz - the cause of his frenzy. Namely, how he had seen a human fly over their lands during his watch in the early hours of the morning. First he had disregarded it as a bird. That, however, was before said bird tried to drop rocks at his head. That had caused some panic. 

On his way through the halls, rushing to get away, he had run into George. Quite literally. Luckily George was unharmed and he only catched a few key words before Sapnap was up and gone again. That had been enough for him to grab his bow and run up to the walls to find this suspicious bird.

So finally, almost an hour later when Dream was alerted about the events, he headed up to the wall to see George shooting at a quickly receding figure in the air. Whatever that was, it was clear that it wasn’t a bird. And even though they weren't able to identify the figure, it was a given to Dream that this was tied to the Hermits somehow. As he stood and looked after the silhouette, George quickly excused himself to go check on Sapnap. He gave Dream a curt nod before rushing off. The contrast from a few days ago was almost palpable, and Dream felt sadness fill him at the coldness that had risen between them.

An ever growing rift that he couldn’t pass.

\---

George closed the door to the medic’s room behind him and scanned the room. It was softly lit up by the slowly rising sun and in one of the beds he spotted Sapnap sitting with Punz. He quickly moved towards them, his face drifting between expressions of disapprovement, amusement and exasperation. Alternatively all three. When he got close, he smacked Sapnap lightly over the head which earned him a grumble, as well as a chuckle from Punz. Sapnap shot Punz a betrayed look, and the other raised his hands in defence, making no efforts to hide his bright smile. 

George settled down in a windowsill beside the bed and for a few moments, all of them sat in silence, pondering the battle ahead. They were fighting a mostly unknown enemy. They only knew what Dream had told them and what Sapnap and George themselves had seen at their brief visit. And even though George wouldn’t admit it, he was scared. In normal circumstances he would have died in his last encounter with the Hermits. Without Dream’s magic, he would have lost it all. He had been too reckless. What if he made a similair mistake again? What if it cost one of his friends their life? If he closed his eyes, he could still feel the edge of the knife at his side, an arm suddenly around his neck as the knife pushed through his skin. And then nothing. Followed by pain, pain, pa- 

He was torn out of his head by a hand on his leg. “It will be fine,” Sapnap said firmly. “Okay? We're gonna make it.”

George looked down and found both Sapnap’s and Punz’s gazes on him. He worried them. He was the second in command, he had to support them, not drag them down. “Of course we will.” He pressed forth a smile that he knew both of them could see through. But despite their worry they seemed to let it go, for his sake. Or Punz did at least, and George silently thanked the man with a nod. As for Sapnap, he opened his mouth to say something but George interrupted him. 

“Are you even in a position to fight, Sapnap?”

At that, Sapnap’s worried expression was replaced with an offended one. “Of course I am! It’s nothing,” he said, gently touching his head. Then his voice rose. “I’m gonna stand there right by your side and I promise you that through hell or high water, we will make it through.”

Silence. 

And then George and Punz started to laugh hysterically. Punz swayed dangerously at the edge of the bed and George clutched his stomach. Their efforts to press out words were very impressive, but both failed as new waves of laughter came over them. 

After a solid minute or two of them laughing and Sapnap sitting with his arms crossed while muttering ‘It isn’t that funny’, they had calmed down enough to speak.

“Sapnap, what the heck was that?” Punz said through giggles.

“Shut up, I’ve always wanted to say that!” Sapnap retorted as he threw a pillow at the other. “I can be inspirational.”

That threatened to throw the other two into a new laughing fit, but George managed to speak. “Inspirational? That’s not inspirational, it's just preposterous.” 

“I don’t think he knows that word, George,” Punz said while smiling at Sapnap.

“Oh and you do?” Sapnap quickly said. “Please inform me then Punz, what does it mean?”

If one wasn’t paying attention, which neither of them were, it would be so easy to miss the sound of a door closing. It would be easy to disregard the leader of the Land of Dreams as he made his way away from there. And it would be all too easy to see past him, as he drowned in unspoken worry of the battle ahead. And no one was around to pull him out of it. Because at this moment, everyone was preparing in their own way, everyone was trying to get their mind off the battle to come. But he couldn’t, because he was alone. And after watching George, Sapnap and Punz laugh together, he realized that there was no company waiting for him. He wasn’t missed, he wasn’t wished anywhere. The only one he had to seek comfort in was himself. And he wouldn’t find any calm there. But that was alright. He didn’t need them, he reasoned. There was no reason to care. He was a Watcher, and as he knew, as they all knew by now: Watchers didn’t have friends.

So as he walked away, he ignored the protesting voice in his mind that asked him why, if he didn’t care, he had sought them out in the first place.

\---

It was time.

Both sides were prepared, both sides had a plan, and both sides currently watched each other from across a field outside the main base of Dream’s clan. It was now clear to the Hermits that they had lost the element of surprise, and they found no more reason to try and hide why they were there.

Grian had realized he had gone too far in his scouting earlier, when the arrows started to fly at him. And yes maybe it had been stupid to try and drop stones onto the guard on duty, but what an opportunity it had been. And when Grian got back and through uncontrollable giggling explained to his quite exasperated allies that he had been detected, they really weren’t all that surprised. It was Grian after all. And even they had to admit that it was quite funny. Xisuma wouldn’t complain and neither would anyone else. They found it good that Grian could still laugh. No one believed that he had put Joe behind already, but for a moment, maybe he could forget, and everyone could be reminded that he still had a fire within him. And it burned for all of them. Besides, everyone had their own way of coping. And if Grian’s was to throw stones at the enemy, who were they to judge?

Grian’s scouting had brought them some valuable information about the layout of the base though, information they would need for their plan. So when Grian was done explaining how he had scared the living spirits out of the guard, they let the new addition to their forces - general Wilbur Soot - join them so Grian could explain to him what he and his men needed to do.

If everything went to plan, no one but Dream would get hurt.

And as the Hermits stood in a line and faced Dream and his soldiers over the field, Wilbur Soot wasn’t anywhere in sight. And there was no reason for Dream to suspect that anything was out of place. In fact, Dream’s mind was as far from the escaped inhabitants of L’manburg as it could be. 

Normally, Dream would be able to keep many thoughts in his head without problem, but right now, that wasn’t possible. His sole focus was on the two men who stood on either side of the line of Hermits. This would be the last time, and he wanted to make sure he remembered every part of it. After all this time, there was no chance he would miss the looks on their faces as they realized he had won. And that there was nothing they could do. 

Currently, both sides were frozen still. They were just waiting for someone to make the first move, and Dream knew that it would be his side. The Hermits were inexperienced and bad at offensive fighting, they would wait, observe for as long as they could before they attacked. It was a clever move. Granted, they had the numbers on their side, but Dream’s people had the skill. And the fearlessness. They wouldn’t hesitate. Dream knew that the Hermits would do almost anything to avoid more unnecessary death. He could easily use that against his brothers. They would try to retreat or negotiate if things went too far. Dream knew very well that they wouldn’t want people to die for them.

And that was how Dream would win.

But for now, he wasn’t in a hurry. He would start the battle, that meant he could drag it out and make them nervous. So he turned around, to look at the people around him. There was no reason to worry about them attacking him from behind, they would never have enough time before he moved away. So he completely ignored them and looked at his allies. The ones closest to him were his most trusted, even if they weren’t on friendly terms anymore, they were still the ones he had most faith in, and the first thing that caught his attention was the rigid stance of both Sapnap and George as they stared across the field. George shifted from one foot to another while clenching and unclenching the hand around his bow. He had a sword sheathed next to him, but Dream knew he didn’t want to use it. The other man hated battles, and especially close combat. 

Sapnap looked equally uncomfortable, but more determined. He was one of the most skilled warriors they had, and Dream was surprised to see him so tense. It wasn’t like him. After a second he followed both their stares to the other side and with a pang he realized the cause of their nervousness. 

The girl. 

On the front line of the Hermits stood the girl who’d stabbed George all those weeks ago. She moved along the lines and seemed to rally them up, smiling reassuringly and sending stormy glares over the field. At the sight of her even Dream tensed up, and familiar anger flared up. She wouldn’t get to hurt any of them this time. He would make sure that she was his first target. His brothers could wait, they were going to watch as their best fighters fell around them before he went after them. And she was undoubtedly one of the best.

For a second he wanted to reach out and put his hand on George’s shoulder. To let him know that she wouldn’t get near him again. But he couldn’t. It wasn’t his place. That was something for Sapnap to do, or Punz, or someone that George actually trusted. Someone he would sit with before a battle to let out tension and forget his fear. Someone he considered a frie- No, wrong time for those thoughts. Focus. He needed focus.

He forced himself to continue. Punz, Ponk, Skeppy all stood close by. As well as a man he knew as Callahan. Now, Dream certainly didn’t know the names of all of his soldiers. Why should he? He didn’t care for them anyway. But he liked Callahan, well he respected Callahan. Mainly, because he was a man of few words and didn’t give Dream a bunch of trouble, unlike most of the others in the Land of Dreams. So Dream had to hand it to the man. It surely took one hell of a lot of discipline to listen to these people without uttering a few threats at least once a week.

As his eyes swept over familiar faces, some of which he could name and some not, he thought about the people who stayed behind. Mainly Bad, since Bad was the one he knew the best. Skeppy had approached Dream the day before and suggested that it would be more beneficial to have their main healer outside of the fight. It was naive to think that they wouldn’t get injured, no matter how experienced their opponents were or not. Dream had approved of that idea, so Bad had stayed, ready to receive any injured soldiers. And since Bad wasn’t very practiced in fighting, it wasn’t really a big loss to not have him in the fight. When mentioning this to Bad, he had asked that his helper would stay behind too. A boy named Karl that came from one of the minor clans they had taken over. And even though Karl had protested greatly against staying behind, Dream didn’t see a problem with it and had ordered the man to help and protect Bad.

As his mind returned to the present he hesitated before turning back towards the Hermits. Maybe he should say something? Like the girl did on the other side. Could he even motivate them? Should he even try? They didn’t like him. They weren’t close knit as the Hermits seemed to be. Or maybe they were, just that he hadn’t let himself become a part of that. Was it too late now? Maybe he could ask George to say something, after all, George was second in command, George was good with words, George was human. Just like the others. And Dream didn’t know what that was like, because even if his mind had wandered away from the Watcher it used to be, he could never be human. Because humans needed other humans. And he’d made sure he would never have that.

He would never be a human.

And that thought still felt bittersweet, despite how much he told himself that it was what he wanted. He wanted to speak right now. He wanted to be a part of this group for just a moment. So he let his mouth open. If he wouldn’t have humanity, he could at least have this. 

“You are all prepared. Just do what you’ve always done and we will win. They don’t stand a chance.”

Dream cringed internally. The words were too simple, they stated the obvious and most importantly, they were not inspiring in the slightest. When had he lost the way with words? His eyes scanned over his soldiers and he held his head high. Even though his words may have been weak, he wasn’t. And no one would doubt that. Ever.

But he quickly realized that something was off. Instead of the silence he expected, he was met with smiles, cheers and battle cries. And at the very front, Sapnap and George, wide eyed and disbelieving, stared at him before raising their fists and joining into the call of war around them. 

They looked at him. 

They smiled.

And he was ready at last. This was it.

He turned around and gave the command. And the battle began. Dream knew that their best tactic was full on offense. The Hermits had no training, and they worked best as a collective unit. So they would separate them. They would barge straight into the middle and force the Hermits apart from each other. Almost everyone in the Land of Dreams would win in a one on one against their enemies, so that was what they went for. 

Some, like George, stayed back and went for long distance fighting. This could be dangerous since their main plan was to merge the groups, but George in particular had a scarily accurate aim, and he would do his best to aim at their enemies' feet so they would be disabled. 

That was another aspect of the plan. Avoid killing the enemy. Yes, Dream wanted most of them dead. But he would prefer waiting until the battle was over, and then he could give them all a choice. Join him, or die. In all honesty, he didn’t particularly care what they chose, and he had a strong suspicion that no one would join their clan. But it didn’t matter, both options would be equally painful for his brothers. And that was what mattered to him.

When the Hermits noticed the approaching unit, there was not much they could do. The girl in the middle shouted out an order and the group split in two. They were apart, but still in big enough groups so that they could defend each other. The only one who stayed put was the girl, eyes fixed on Dream and his face opened in a feral grin as he got closer. He threw his axe out in a wild swing and she barely managed to block it with her shield. The force of it slung her to the ground. Luckily, the axe hadn’t hit it with the edge, or her shield would be ruined. But now it just bounced off.

After a quick look around she jumped up to her feet. She scanned him carefully and kept her distance. When he tried to strike again she took a step backwards and she struck out only when he retracted his axe. He turned his shield her way and pushed against her blade. She stumbled backwards but kept her balance. As numerous fights continued around them their strange dance went on. He had to commend her, she was sly. She knew she could never beat him in a direct fight, so she kept her distance and only attacked directly after him, when the momentum brought his axe away. Unfortunately for her, that made her predictable, and Dream struck out his axe lightly. As she went forward, his weapon shifted and she barely managed to stop it with her shield. It bore into the wood in her shield and the force of it made her fall. Dream walked forward and stepped on her wrist until she dropped her sword, before kicking it away carelessly. But before he could attack, a small weight flew into his side, between the holes in his armor, and he stumbled forward. The girl quickly rolled away and picked her sword back up.

Dream glanced behind him and found a vaguely familiar man there with a strange contraption in his arms. It looked like some form of advanced crossbow. He tried to figure out where he’d seen him before. And then his eyes went to the incredibly sophisticated mustache and briefly remembered the man next to Grian during his visit in the Hermitlands. This man was a close friend of his brother’s if that interaction was anything to judge by. How perfect.

He quickly backed up so he could see both the girl and the mustached man. Behind them he could see the fighting going on. Sapnap fought a man with a mechanical eye close by. Smoke bombs dropped from the sky farther away. And arrows flew and hit people in their legs. In a split second his attention was brought back to his own opponents and he realized his mistake. He’d blacked out for too long. The man pressed the contraption and another weight hit him straight in the stomach, or what would be his stomach hadn’t he had armor. He looked down to assess the ammunition and found that it was a big stone. That ought to be quite heavy.

The girl took this opportunity to jump in front of her friend. “Mumbo, get out of here. Now.”

Mumbo hesitated, but she shoved him to the side and placed herself directly in front of Dream.

He smiled, but there was nothing happy about it. It looked purely like a demon, straight from the abyss. “Stupid move.”

But he couldn’t engage in the battle again before her gaze flickered to something above his shoulder and without thinking Dream stepped to the side. The second after a compact roof came down where his head just had been.

“You revealed me,” a voice said. A painfully recognizable voice that made familiar anger flare through him.

“If you didn’t interrupt my battle that wouldn’t have been a problem X.” She used Dream’s brief shift of attention to strike out her sword. He blocked it with an almost chilling ease.

X. She called him X with a familiarity that brought back an old hurt he’d thought he’d buried deep. The hurt of being abandoned by the people who were supposed to love you. And she now seemed closer to his brother than Dream had ever been. He cared for her more than he’d ever cared for Dream

He struck out his axe hard against Xisuma, but he’d lost the finesse. No matter how much he tried to regain composure, seeing his brother again had lit the fire within him. Because when it came down to it, everything that was wrong in his life was Xisuma’s fault. That was not to say that he didn’t blame Grian too, but Xisuma was supposed to be the disciplined one. Xisuma was supposed to be the one who always did the right thing. And he had left them first. He had decided that Grian, the Hermits and every human was more important than Dream. And he had left. There was no point in trying to keep the anger from boiling over. 

It continued as he fought them. It continued as he was forced to jump back. And anger continued to burn him from the inside when the screams of fighting around them ceased and the world grew silent, until only Dream’s axe and his opponents weapons could be heard. He didn’t know why it grew silent and he didn’t care. There was nothing to be heard. He couldn’t hear what Xisuma shouted at him. He couldn’t hear anything except his own anger. It was the only thing that mattered. And it had been way too long since he had been able to lose himself to it so fully. It felt dangerous, numbing and for some reason… scary. This was supposed to be his happy place, why would it ever be scary? It was anger. It was him. And he couldn't rise out of it. Nothing could take him out of it. 

Until another voice called and a sword stopped his axe. 

He opened his eyes to the real world and there was Sapnap. Blood covering his forehead and his sword against Dream’s axe. He looked scared. Panicked even and finally his voice reached Dream.

“-an ultimatum, you need to stop,” he said, before lowering his sword and turning around. Behind him, the battle had stopped. The crowd had parted, a temporary truce, but everyone was still tense. And in the middle of it all were Wilbur Soot. Around him stood two younger boys, probably the other escapees from L’manburg. But that was not the most important thing right now. In front of Wilbur, held by a tight grip around their neck, a hooded figure stood. And after nodding at Grian, one of the boys pulled away the hood carelessly and Dream stared right into Bad’s frightened eyes.

A pained scream sounded to Dream’s right and he looked up right in time to see George desperately rushing forward to stop Skeppy, looking towards the others to help him.

Dream himself was stunned and he couldn’t do anything other than watch as Wilbur held a knife to Bad’s throat and pressed softly. The intent was obvious, but Dream’s head still whirled with questions. Why was Bad here? Why was Wilbur Soot helping his brothers? What did they want? And why had they stopped an entire battle for one person? They couldn’t possibly think he would surrender because they threatened one person?

He felt a movement behind him and quickly turned his head to see Xisuma walk past him. Axe flying up. His brother calmly went up to Grian, and they both exchanged a few words before looking back at Dream.

“I’m not quite sure that you have told these people what they are really fighting for,” Xisuma started. “But this isn’t their fight. And we don’t want them to get hurt. We don’t want anyone to get hurt. So we have an offer for you.” He gestured towards Bad. “He will live, if you stop this battle right now and instead only fights us.”

Dream was silent for a moment, cursing Karl in his head for failing at the easiest job possible. “What?”

“This man will die unless you tell your warriors to back down, and fight us by yourself,” Grian said. “This isn’t their fight. It’s our fight, and it has always been. Why involve lots of others when we all know it’s going to come down to us three in the end? It’s simply unavoidable, so we’re not going to try to avoid it at all. We’re going to save our people.”

Dream looked around the battlefield, all eyes now focused on them or Bad. If he continued this battle, he was almost certainly going to win, but Bad would die. And in the end it would come down to the three of them anyway, just like they said. And Bad was only one person, it was a small price to pay. But would his allies still stand by him if he let the man die when he had a chance of winning anyway? Would he be able to take it himself?

“What will it be, Dream?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This, my friends, is a game called "How big of a monster is Dream really?"
> 
> Let's just give an applaud to False for dealing with Dream so the others didn't have to. She really lives by the principle 'take one for the team'. What a legend.
> 
> I am really curious how you feel about this! So please leave thoughts, theories and feedback in the comments (or just anything if you want to, it makes my day and I love interacting with you all, everyone is so kind!) I am incredibly exited about the next chapter, it will certainly be something!
> 
> Until next chapter, have a great time, I love you, and pray for your favorite characters because I can't guarantee anyone's safety in the upcoming chapter...


	22. Call Them Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time is a funny thing. Everyone feels it, it pulls people along in change and no one can stop it. No one can go back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> This title is directly taken from the song Call Them Brothers by Regina Spektor. You don't have to know it to understand, that is just the song I have had in mind for the Watchers since the beginning.
> 
> I tried to find some pictures of Dream that matched how I imagine his eyes glowing, but I couldn't really find anything. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's actually published on the birthday of two of my best friends, and they both read this! So happy birthday!  
> Enjoy <3

It was a trap.

If he said no to their ultimatum, if he continued the battle and let Bad die, his forces would most likely abandon him. And if he didn’t, he would fight his brothers two on one. Which, even though they weren’t as skilled in fighting as him, was terrible odds. They both had more experience being human, they were now older and both had their own methods of fighting. He couldn’t afford to underestimate them. It would get him sent back to the void.

Dream could feel the gazes of his allies burn into him. He knew what they wanted. Obviously. They surely held no doubt in their minds that he could beat both of the others by himself. But even if they had doubts, they would with certainty still choose Bad’s safety over his. And why wouldn’t they? No one could blame them, Bad was everything he wasn't. Bad was kind. Bad was forgiving. He was loved by everyone and he made everyone feel loved in return. Dream knew that every one of his allies would save Bad in a heartbeat. They would sacrifice themselves and they would sacrifice him.

And if he didn’t, would they still fight by his side?

Probably not. He’d really been backed into a corner, and again, he cursed Karl for failing at the simplest task possible. Sure, there had been three people pursuing Bad, but still. They couldn’t possibly know the base well enough. If Karl had just been able to buy Bad some time he should have been able to lose them quite easily. So how was it that Bad was now standing before them, with a knife to his throat? Dream’s eyes didn’t avert from him until a single tear fell down Bad’s cheek. Then he quickly looked to his brothers with burning eyes.

“Please don’t take the entire day,” Grian said, voice barely stable.

Dream watched him. It was clear that Grian tried to be nonchalant, but he failed. Quite miserably. Nervousness could be seen through his weak facade. He didn’t know what Dream’s answer would be. And that scared him. That was good, he should be scared. They had made a mistake trying to threaten him and his people.

Xisuma managed to hide it better, but Dream could see the fear in his eyes. It was, however, a different kind of fear than Grian’s. Xisuma’s eyes flickered between Dream and Bad. He was afraid that they would have to kill Bad. Because despite them being on opposite sides, Xisuma didn’t belong in war. And he loved humanity. He didn’t want to watch Bad die, but if it came to it, he would. Because he cared for the Hermits more than he cared for Bad.

But the guilt would still rip him apart. The only one he wanted gone was Dream.

Well then so be it. He would get as he pleased, and Dream would make sure he regretted it deeply. Dream wouldn’t be the one gone at the end of this.

There really wasn’t a choice, and Dream was well aware of that. No matter what happened, he would end up fighting this alone. Everyone on his side knew that he could likely beat his brothers, if he backed out, he would just throw away Bad’s life. And even though he hated giving in to his brothers ultimatum, even though he hated to play right into their hands: he couldn’t deny that he hated seeing Bad threatened more. He wished he didn’t. He wished he could say that he only cared about how his allies would react, only cared about the efficiency of the fight. But it simply wasn’t the case. The thought of Bad, crying quietly because he wasn’t sure he would live through the day broke something within him. Wilbur Soot and his men would have hell to pay when this fight was over.

“Let him go then,” Dream said through gritted teeth.

His brothers couldn’t hide their relieved faces at his words, but they still waited. A tenseness left in their shoulders showing that they didn’t trust him. “I’m sorry, but we’ll let him go when the fight begins,” Xisuma said. “We don’t want you to go back on your word.” 

Dream was silent for a moment. Yes, normally he wouldn’t put it past himself to lie. But in this case, he couldn’t. He knew that many people on his side wouldn’t hesitate to abandon him, should he break his word. This wasn’t their fight, but still they stood beside him. They wouldn’t do that if he ignored this opportunity to save them. It was just like Sapnap had said two nights ago. None of them wanted to see more death. And here he had a chance to save them from it. No one would have to die. He really had no other choice than to accept his brothers terms in this. His clan had done all they could for him, now it was his turn to walk the last bit.

“I swear that I will abide by your terms,” Dream said. “On my clan and my honor as a Watcher.”

It was a wonder that his brothers didn’t question it. For as far as they knew, he didn’t have any care for either his people or the status as a Watcher. But maybe they saw something in that moment. Maybe they could detect something that Dream couldn’t. Because some of the tenseness disappeared. They were silent, and Xisuma let his eyes drift over the people behind Dream. And apparently he saw something there. Something strong enough to convince him, because he immediately turned to Wilbur Soot and asked him to release the prisoner. 

The general only hesitated for a second, but that was enough to cause a reaction and Dream could hear someone being held back (yet again) in their anger. One of the men beside Wilbur, a redhead with lean features, gently grabbed his general's arm and brought the knife away from Bad’s throat. That seemed to pull the man out of his trance and he pushed Bad away from him. Before anyone could react, Skeppy was at his side and dragged him away from the field. (If Dream’s ears weren’t mistaken Skeppy alternated between whispering soothing words to Bad and muttering death threats at Wilbur) 

The others stayed in silence for just a second and Dream looked at his allies. They all looked relieved, some more than others. Some were injured, some limping and some entirely fine. No one seemed to be too badly hurt. And then found someone's eyes. One person stared directly at him, bow still in hand. George was wide eyed and looked slightly disheveled from the fight, but largely he seemed unharmed and Dream felt a small weight lift off him at this. But despite George seeming fine, the other man wasn’t calm. He was pale and in his eyes disbelief and worry swiveled. And amongst that was something else. Something warm and open. And at first Dream couldn’t identify it, because he’d never seen it directed at him before. But after a few seconds it hit him. Maybe it was gratitude. Maybe it was care. And that insight warmed him up so it felt like he would burn.

He averted his eyes.

And instead he looked to his brothers. Grian with a tense but relieved smile, and Xisuma who stared directly back at Dream with such an immense sadness that he almost turned away again. But this he could handle. This he knew how to face. So he held the stare and his mask sent back a cold smile. A face that promised his own victory. And for a few seconds that was all that there was. They both staring into the eyes of their monsters. The monsters they had made each other into. They weren’t the same, and there was no going back. They had all made their choices. 

Xisuma was the first to turn away.

Grian looked between them and put his hand on Xisuma’s shoulder. “We will need to set some terms,” he said, stepping forward. “So we and everyone else knows how it will go down.”

“Can we all agree that the winner or winners of this fight will leave this field unbothered by the allies of the opponents?” Xisuma said so that everyone could hear. “Meaning, if we win, your people won’t hurt us, and if you win our people won’t hurt you.”

“That sounds excellent,” Dream said coolly. He couldn’t guarantee he would keep that word, but his brothers certainly wouldn’t be here to stop him should he decide to attack the Hermits.

“Wait wait wait,” called someone on the side. Dream didn’t have to turn to know that it was Sapnap. “When is the fight over? Are you battling to the death?”

“Oh no, the loser doesn’t get to die,” Dream said with an unsettling smirk growing, hidden by his mask. He took a few steps towards his brothers and lowered his voice as the next words left his mouth. “Why should you get the freedom death has to offer. The loser will go back. And they will forever stay there, in the void. Never to return to this world or the Earth.”

He could see their faces twist at that. He would have been scared too, had he not been sure of his victory.

They all silenced as they contemplated this. Going back there was the last thing any of them wanted to do. Because in the end, it had been all their prison. And they hated it more than anything.

“How do you even know it’s possible?” Xisuma said. “After all, the void isn’t where it used to be. Isn’t that right? Care to explain what happened?”

“Not really,” Dream replied. “But I can find a way back there for you two, don’t worry.” 

Grian took a step towards him, but now it was Xisuma’s turn to place a hand on his shoulder and calmly shake his head before looking up at their brother. “Well then, we’re in agreement,” Xisuma said. “When someone is harmed badly enough so they can’t continue, they are out of the fight. But you have to get both of us. And all tools are available, right?”

“Right.” Dream had a strange feeling that swords, axes and shields wouldn’t be the most important weapons in this fight. But he would win anyway. He would always win. Nothing they could do would possibly take him down, it didn’t even matter that it was two against one. Neither of them were warriors, and both of them had been on Mojang much longer than him. That could be a perk, but also a deadly disadvantage. He could see the traces of time in their faces, their bodies slowly breaking down. The years they had spent down here had made them weak. It was time for them to feel the power of a true Watcher. 

It was time for them to leave Mojang.

\---

Barely even ten minutes later Dream found himself alone. Nothing new about that. He was prepared with his axe and shield, as well as a small knife stuck into his boot. The battlefield was cleared out and on the sidelines, their people stood. In the middle of the field were only them. The Watchers. Just like old times. It might as well have been back at the beginning. 

Or well, there would be only them. Grian and Xisuma still stood amongst their people, exchanging words and hugs. They were smiling. Dream tried not to notice the pain it caused to see their new family. The most painful thing being that it wasn’t even new. They had been down here for years. And in that time, they had gotten to know these humans, and had stopped knowing him. 

But it didn’t matter to him.No, they didn’t matter anymore. So instead of focusing on their parting words - what would be their last words to their found family - he assessed their gear. Xisuma had quite normal gear. He had armor, though some of it glowed a bit in an eerie shade of purple, and a simple sword by his side. It was a smart choice. Xisuma wasn't a bad warrior per se, it was just that Dream was much better. And in a one on one between them, there would be no question about who would win. But this wasn’t a one on one, and therefore it wasn’t all that important that Dream was better. It all came down to the third party.

So Dream let his eyes go to Grian. 

His other brother certainly wasn’t equipped for a classic fight. First off, he didn’t really have armour. Well he had some kind of armour, but it absolutely wasn’t enough for this kind of fight. He had leather boots, pants and a helmet of iron, but instead of protecting his chest, he had some kind of contraption on his back. It was tied around his chest with bands of black leather and draped down his back like some sort of split cape. At his waist he had small vials filled with colorful liquids and a few red spheres. The vials were probably different kinds of potions. Dream would have to get rid of those quite quickly. The spheres however, were less recognizable. The mustached man called Mumbo had given them to Grian before enveloping him in a tight hug while another man, the one with the artificial eye, stood beside and looked like he was in the middle of a lecture. The other Hermits seemed to try and smother Xisuma in a giant group hug, and Dream could see him detangling from them carefully with a calming smile. Like they had nothing to worry about.

Maybe Dream should have done something similar (but less sentimental). He hadn’t spoken to anyone on his side since Bad’s capture. And really, what was the point? After all, he would be out of there as soon as he'd won, right? He wouldn’t need to speak to them again, it could only bring him down. Distract him. But still, maybe he wanted to speak to them. Maybe he was scared. Maybe he didn’t want to leave it all behind him and move on. But he would. He most definitely would. And he was so close. He didn’t know what would happen after, but he knew he would find his way away. To be free from humans and Watchers alike. Somehow that didn’t feel enough anymore though. Where was away? How could he live without people by his side? 

No, it was the wrong time to lose his way.

But as that thought flew through his head, another followed. When was the right time? He had to be allowed to feel lost sometime, didn’t he? But every time it had happened, it had just been the wrong time. So how would he ever find the right path if he couldn’t even consider the possibility that the one he currently walked was wrong? There was a simple answer to that: he couldn’t. But he didn’t have the space to lose himself, least of all right now. If he did, he would lose everything. And he had come too far for that. 

But everyone else seemed to know just where they were headed. He watched Xisuma and Grian talk to their people with reassuring smiles, watched them hug their loved ones and turn to him with a new determination in them. How come they always knew where to go? They seemed so incredibly sure. Sure of who they were. Sure of where they belonged.

Sure that they were in the right.

But they had made mistakes too. Just like Dream. They were the ones who'd just ordered a kidnapping of one of the kindest people Dream had ever met. They had injured his soldiers. And they had been the ones to leave him in the void in the first place. Grian had left because he was tired of watching. He wanted to live, to see the world. Just like Dream. He had left out of impatience and curiosity. And Xisuma, he had wanted to meet the humans. He had chosen them over his brothers. Those who loved him. Was he so sure that he had made the right choice? Didn’t he regret leaving them there at all? He was supposed to be the wisest of them, and yet, he had been the first one to abandon his post. To abandon the Earth.

It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered in the moment except this. Dream had held up for so long, he wouldn’t break now. He wouldn’t hesitate. After this battle, there would be all the time in the world, and he would be happy. They would both be out of his life forever. And as they closed up on him, three brothers standing in a circle, he smiled. Because this was what he wanted. That hadn’t changed and it would never change. He would make sure of it. He wouldn’t falter.

In the background he could hear a countdown. And then it begun. 

It immediately became obvious that this battle wasn’t a normal one. And Dream knew that his best weapon here wouldn’t be his axe. He would have to employ another tool, one he most often kept out of battle. 

He’d always been of the opinion that people who focused on words in a fight were fools. But this wasn't just a fight. And they weren’t just people. This was an end. Their end. And there were words that needed to be said, no matter what Dream thought of it or not. Even though none of them would ever admit it, maybe they all could use some closure. And the words he chose could very well turn out to be the deciding factor here.

They all stood still when the fight began. And Dream tried to will his feet to move, to attack, to finish this once and for all. But they didn’t, he just stood still. And so did his brothers. They watched him, warily, and he realized that just like the beginning of the battle between their people, they were waiting for him to make the first move. So he did. It just wasn’t a move that any of them had expected from him. Not even Dream himself.

After checking that they were far away enough from everyone else, so that no one would be able to see him, he brought his mask to the side and stared into their eyes. Green, purple, red. Glowing softly in the daylight.

“Tell me,” he began, voice steady. “How does it feel to be loved?”

Then he lunged forward.

He collided with Xisuma’s shield, realizing that he hadn’t actually swung his axe. He had just wanted to get to him. To hurt him. Tear him apart. A stupid mistake, and way too early in the battle. He had to get it together.

To his side he heard an odd sound and when he turned that way, he found Grian gone. For a moment it was just green and purple, staring at the spot where Grian had been. 

Then a weight crashed into Dream’s back and he fell. It hurt, but he quickly spun around, to find Grian stumble behind him. He put his shield behind him to protect from eventual attacks from Xisuma and swung his axe towards his other brother. Grian quickly brought his hand to his belt and tugged. Then a red cloud surrounded them and the mysterious sound could be heard again. Dream turned unsteadily and barely managed to block a hit from Xisuma’s sword with his axe. 

This was wrong. This wasn’t what would happen. He needed to back up, to sort this out.

After taking a few steps back he found himself reaching the end of the red cloud and he waited for it to dissipate. When it did, both his enemies were standing completely still, just watching him again. They had won the first trade. Point taken. But still, sadness lingered in Xisuma’s eyes and shame in Grian’s. 

The former looked at him. “We loved you.”

Dream almost wanted to laugh, this didn’t matter to him It didn’t matter. “Apparently not enough though.” His voice cracked a bit at the end.

“Were we ever enough for you?” Grian retorted, but there wasn’t much bite behind the words. He spoke as if he just stated a fact. As if he knew the answer.

“Well, you wouldn’t know, would you?” Dream felt the anger return. He felt it replace some of the pure hopelessness that had filled his chest. Was there a good way out of this? “You both left before you gave me a chance.”

He rushed forward again, and this time he saw the cause of the sound. Grian held a small object in his hand that launched him up into the sky. The contraption on his back unfolded and he soared high above. Dream ran towards Xisuma and swept his axe out low. As his opponent lowered the shield, Dream struck out his elbow and hit the other on the throat, making him lose his breath. As he coughed, desperately trying to fill his lungs with air Dream glanced up briefly.

And then jumped backwards as fast as he could. 

Grian came down where he just had been and stood in front of Xisuma protectively. Now, this wouldn’t have been scary at all - it would in fact have been laughable, considering Grian barely had armor and no heavy weapons - if not for one detail. The belt of potions. Dream didn’t know what kinds of potions the other might have, and he couldn’t risk walking into a poison. It could be the end of him. So again, he stayed back. And when Xisuma regained his breath they continued to keep distance. Because as it’s been established, this wasn’t an ordinary fight. And Dream wished to break them with words as much as with his axe. And as he racked his mind with possible things he wanted to say, endless words he wanted to throw in their faces, another voice sounded before.

“I’m sorry.”

His mind short circuited briefly, and Xisuma seemed to take this as an incentive to go on. “I’m sorry for many things. I’m sorry for leaving. I’m sorry for making you feel unloved. I’m sorry that we were the Watchers to begin with. But most of all, I’m sorry that I don't regret a single thing. I’m sorry that I would have done it all again. Because,” he paused and glanced backwards. At the Hermits. “They are worth it all. They are worth all the pain you had to go through, and everything that you might put me or Grian through. And I am sorry that we could never be the family that they have been to me. You have to believe that I love you too. But it wasn’t enough.”

It wasn’t enough.

Dream wasn’t enough. 

He had never been enough.

Not for Xisuma.

Not for Grian.

He was never enough. For anyone. And he had never been.

He could clearly see the tears that flowed from Xisuma’s eyes and his eyes wouldn’t move away. They had found another family. They loved other people. Humans. And he hadn’t been worth staying behind for. He had always known that to be the case, so why did it hurt so goddamn bad to hear the words come from his brother's mouth? His brother. Wasn’t brothers supposed to love each other. Wasn’t brothers supposed to argue, fight, break and put themselves together again? To find each other no matter what? Well they wouldn’t find each other again. This was broken. And it would stay broken. And for once, Dream felt certain that it hadn’t been because of him. He hadn’t started this. He hadn’t made himself into this. He had never, ever asked to be put aside. And his actions would no longer need to be excused. They would go back. Not him. They would get stuck in the void forever. Not him. And they would still have each other, they would still have a part of their broken family. And he would yet again stay behind. Alone. But by choice tthis time. Because it was the only thing he could do. Three Watchers was too much for any world to handle. They would go back. They would see their home burn by his hands. Would that be enough? Was it truly a choice if it made him feel so trapped?

He finally managed to tear his eyes from Xisuma and look to Grian. Time had stopped again, and neither of them tried to move. But just as Xisuma, Grian’s eyes were blank. And a tear ran down his cheek.

“Dream,” he said, sounding like he pushed out every word. “You… you never cared, okay? You never cared for anything the humans did. X- he loved them. And I… I loved their creations. And I learned to love them too. You didn’t. And… Well it was always our task to keep the humans safe. Me and X just were better suited for a life among them. But you weren’t, and you’re still not. Don’t you see?”

Yes Dream did see. He saw a huge hypocrite. “Don’t you pretend that you care for any humans that aren't them,” Dream spat while pointing at the Hermits.

“It’s more than what you do anyway, you care for no one but yourself.”

Now, none of the brothers were sure if that was true. Because they had all been there when George got stabbed. They had all seen Dream’s reaction. And it might just be so that Dream was the one who was least aware of the care he held for a chosen few humans. 

But even for him, the faces of George and Sapnap showed up in his head, and maybe, just maybe, could he too see the love he hadn’t allowed himself to feel towards them. But love was a curious thing, and it always slipped through the cracks. Unfortunately, he still didn’t have time to ponder those thoughts.

“You don’t know me,” he said instead. “And apparently I don’t know you as well as I thought.”

He ripped up the small knife from his boot and before anyone had time to react, he threw it. It went through one of Grian’s wings. And while both his brothers looked at the hole with stunned eyes, he swept forward once again, giving them no time to throw potions. It was a sloppy attack and they both dodged way too easily for his liking. But neither of them failed to notice the tears running freely from green eyes. While Xisuma handed Grian a smaller blade that had previously been sheathed at his side, they continued to fight. They struck out, blocked and swirled around each other fervently. All of them rapidly losing whatever cool they had left.

“You don’t get to be the victim here,” Xisuma choked out. “You killed Joe.”

Dream pushed him backwards. “No, I didn't. It was someone else Someone got to him before I could find him..”

“You’re lying,” Xisuma said. “Joe was the kindest soul in our lands. Why would anyone kill him?”

“Maybe for the same reason that you just threatened to kill Bad,” Dream spat.

“We had to.” Grian’s hand went towards his belt and Dream retreated to avoid whatever potions his brother could send towards him. As he looked up at the two people before him, he was shaking with anger.

“Don’t you go and justify the threat on Bad’s life and then condemn me for a murder I didn’t even comitt. You sent Joe here! If you’re gonna blame anybody, blame yourselves.”

Xisuma used the brief pause to quickly remove his chestplate and hand it over to Grian. Revealing a smaller chainmail chestplate underneath. Grian tugged on the new hestplate, offering him a bit more protection than before.

“Believe me, I do blame myself,” Xisuma said. “More than anything.”

And as the fight began again, growing increasingly more frenzied they all could notice the difference. It had all changed. They had all changed. They didn’t know when, or how, but they weren’t the same anymore.

They’d always been Watchers at soul. Eternal, undying. But as Dream took in the tired lines in his brothers’ faces he saw that they had lost it. They aged, grew up. They were neither Watchers nor undying anymore.  
They had been leaders at mind. Kind, fair and passionate. But were they really leaders now? Or had they lost themselves. Were they all simply monsters? Maybe that was what leaders were. Maybe that was the core of all humanity. Monsters.  
They had been kids at heart. But where were their hearts now? Where had the laughter and family gone? The brothers who only had each other and never needed anything else? Was this really how their hearts were going to be? Darkened by time, and all memories of happy playfulness burnt away by hatred and war.

Were they even the Watchers?

There was no trace of the love they had once shared. All there was left was harsh edges and a broken bond. Uneven pieces of the world, different in every way. There was no going back, and there hadn’t been for a long time. They were broken pieces in a picture, kept together by a single word. Brothers. But what were words really? It was the feelings behind them that mattered. The line between love and hatred was thin, and in that moment, as tears flowed from purple, red and green eyes, they all wished that they hadn’t passed it. They wished they could find a way back to easier times. Quieter times when their world only was each other. Because from the beginning, it had been them. Three Watchers, held together by each other. Three Watchers, who never needed anything other than what they had. Three Watchers, slowly ripped from each other and without their brothers, they all grew a monster inside. Monsters born from loneliness, hatred and betrayal.

As their blades flew for the final time, one thought occupied all their minds: How did we come to this?

No one could say how. No one could say when. But when it happened, the people who watched could barely believe it. Because those who had heard the story, those who knew the tale of the Watchers, they would know that it wasn’t possible. The Watchers were eternity personified. But maybe the time came for everyone. After all, there was no such thing as infinity. No one had unlimited time. It was all an illusion. And the Watchers had found themselves fooled by it for far too long. Maybe it was their time, at last. But it was impossible, wasn’t it? They had the magic of the void, they had eternity with them. It simply couldn’t happen. 

But it did. And it was the end. The Watchers were being watched.

Everyone watched the brothers fight.

Everyone watched one of them fall.

But it was only the brothers that truly saw it. They were the only ones who saw the light extinguish from his eyes. That saw his body hit the ground and felt the magic drain out of them all.

And a Watcher was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...
> 
> All the chapters I have written are very dear to me, but this one, this one is special. I rewrote it many times, and I am really happy with it. I hope you all are too!
> 
> Thank you so so much for all your comments and kudos! It means everything to me, so if feel like leaving any thoughts, theories or feedback, please do <3 I am dying to know who you think died (Pun partially intended)
> 
> Next chapter has been planned for a really long time and I can't believe we're actually there. So thank you so much for giving me support and motivation and kindness! I could never have done this without you all and I am so grateful! We will see some old, familiar faces next chapter. Maybe some people you have missed...
> 
> I love you! Have a wonderful time and take care <3


	23. The Dreams of the Dying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A child of war was the first to fall.  
> Then the Blade killed the dogcatcher and doomed them all.  
> The Watcher went last and could his demise barely comprehend.  
> For is anyone ever truly ready to face their end?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello folks!  
> Thank you so much for all the comments and discussions on the last chapter, its filled me with such immense happiness that I went around for like one two days smiling.
> 
> On to the chapter... Guys, this is a bit depressing. Quite depressing actually. It deals with a lot of death and sadness, so please take care and don't read it if you feel like it will bring you down too much <3 (I made myself sad while writing, I promise it will get happier in future chapters)  
> Despite that I am really proud of this! So I hope you enjoy <3

Death came for all in one way or another. 

Some went with calm. They followed death willingly, almost curiously into the world that waited beyond. They didn’t fight its claws, but instead let themselves be embraced by the cold. They let themselves sink down into it, in eternal dreams. And it was welcomed. Expected. Death was the only truly eternal thing in all the worlds, why fight it when it was coming anyway? It could be so much easier if it was just a friend. A presence watching over your life from a distance until one day when it swoops down on you. 

Some went with frenzy. Whether it be panic, fear, anger, devastation. It was all the same really. They fought the claws of death. They held themselves in life for as long as they could and they would destroy everyone who tried to get them out of there. But death could never be destroyed. Because death is eternal. More eternal than the universe. More eternal than the Watchers. And certainly more eternal than life. But still some fought. They fought for just a few drops of their precious time. A few moments above the water. A few breaths more in life. And even though some did it because they feared death, most did it because they loved life. They loved it so dearly and didn’t want to part with it. It was their everything. And they wanted to have it for just a second more to remember what it was like.

Everyone went differently, the only thing certain was that all went in some way. 

\---

Tommy had been doomed from the start. And he’d always known it. Despite his carefree way, he’d always seen the curse that plagued him. Although plagued was probably the wrong word. The curse was beautiful, and should never be considered a curse. And he loved it. But there had never been any denying that it would be his end. That didn’t matter to him though, because he would rather live a short life full of beauty, laughter and carelessness, before a long lonely life. A life in which all his happy memories faded. A life in which he would be cold and bitter.

A life like Dreams.

So Tommy was perfectly happy with how things were. But he was also young, and death wasn’t meant to reach him for a long time. So he’d been unprepared when it came for him. And when it happened he had thought that maybe a long life would be better after all? Because the fear he felt. That all enclosing giant fear was bigger than anything. It took over his mind and soul and consumed him whole. He was a child. He had his entire life before him. How was it fair that death came for him so soon? 

It wasn’t.

But life often wasn’t fair. That was death’s job. Because everyone died, but not everyone lived. Life brought up rays of sunshine and gave them the world. Then death decided it wanted their light for themselves. And so, took them from the world. But maybe, just maybe, death wanted to save their light while it still burned. Before it darkened. Maybe it wanted to protect them from the darkness of the world? Well, Tommy didn't need to be protected. And frankly, death was bullshit to him. Because when you’re young, death doesn’t really exist. It’s just a story, a nightmare to scare kids into behaving, just like stories of witches and werewolves. But after a while, you realize that there is truth behind every story. And there is a lot of truth behind the story of death.

Tommy went with frenzy. Because he was a fighter, a warrior even though he shouldn’t have to be, molded by a war that wasn’t his to fight. And until the end he fought to stay. To be by his friends’ sides. To tell them one last time that he would give it all for them. And maybe he had? If Dream had died it would have all been worth it. He would have saved them. They would have been safe, happy, free and that would be enough for him. Or that’s what he fooled himself at least. For it was never enough for someone like him. He was a fire and fire needed to burn. Fire needed freedom and room and it demanded attention. Just like Tommy. But if he couldn’t have that, if he were to die, then he sure as hell would make sure his friends lived. Tubbo, Wilbur, Fundy. Even Technoblade. They would all live.

But he would never know how they fared. And maybe that was for the best.

As he took his last breath all thoughts left him but one. A prayer. He’d never been one for prayers or religion. And that was probably lucky for whatever deities there were, because he was a boy who wouldn’t hesitate to fight god for half a sandwich. But in that last moment he prayed. He prayed to the heavens and whoever might listen that the world would take care of his friend. That Tubbo would receive happiness, justice and the long peaceful life that he himself had been robbed of. Let Tommy take all the pain and unfairness for himself, and when Tubbo was finished mourning him - because Tubbo would without a doubt mourn - let him move on and be content. That was Tommy’s last wish. And the world would be damned if it dared to hurt his best friend. He would make sure he haunted every single person that tried to hurt Tubbo. If he could that is. If he could stay by spirit. He didn’t know what would happen when he was gone. If only he’d had more time. But he didn’t, it had reached the end of the hourglass, no matter how much he fought to stay awake. 

It was Tubbo’s time to wreak havoc.

Tommy had always loved so fiercely, so strongly. His energy had been pulsating around him so everyone in the vicinity could feel it. He would have been a formidable leader when he grew up. Although, he’d been formidable even as a child. And despite what personal opinions people may have of him, no one could deny that there was something about that boy. He’d had a big heart, loud mouth and a bright soul. And a curse that made him love so intensely that he would stop at nothing to keep those he loved safe. But for him it was a gift. A gift that allowed him to give Tubbo the world. Because they were brothers, not by blood, but by soul.

Tommy had done everything he could with the time he had. It wasn’t his fault that his time had run out, but he wished he could have done more. He had lived, but not enough. He had laughed, but cried too soon after. He’d flown, but fallen too fast. 

It was never enough. But he would do it all again without changing a thing. Because he loved the person he’d become along the way.

\---

All the best people were crazy. And Joe had been crazy enough to believe he could make it out alive. He’d thought he could evade Dream. After all, he’d manage to fool the man, and fooling a Watcher wasn’t the easiest. Joe had to admit he was quite proud of that. It wasn’t a thing many people could say. Although for being so powerful, Dream was terribly naive. Joe was surprised really, that more people haven't seen through the Watchers walls. But maybe he’d been too sure that he could avoid detection, after all Dream was clever. And Joe had taken too many risks. 

Well Joe had taken many risks in his life. It was only expected that one of them would get him killed sooner or later. And when he went, he went without regrets. Really, Joe found regrets pointless. You couldn’t change the past, so why let it weigh you down? If you had things you wished you could have done differently, then make sure to do it right next time. To spend your life wallowing over the past could only bring misery, and there was no time for misery in Joe’s life. He wanted to spend his life actually living. 

And lived he had. More than most people actually. And maybe that’s why he left this world without regrets. Because for many, the biggest regret is spending so much time regretting things in the first place. It was so obvious that your life would be one heck of a lot easier if you just let those thoughts go down the drain, and Joe couldn’t really understand why other people didn’t feel the same. It was a really simple, perfectly logical conclusion. Probably the only logical thing Joe had ever been involved in. Well it was their loss. Joe had done what he wanted in his life. He had been happy. He had spent time with his dogs and built a home. He had made friends and created trouble. And above all he had made people laugh. And that was the most important impact anyone could have. 

Oh, and he had made Dream’s life a living hell, there was also that.

So Joe went with calm. As a man who had achieved everything. Not more, not less. Everything. And man, had he had a good time while doing it. So he didn’t fight it. He didn’t spend more thoughts about those fools he left behind that would surely break out into an all out war that he might or might not be the cause of. He was with himself and his dogs under a sunny sky.

And really, name a better way to go.

\---

He was a human, a man. Not a Watcher. For Watchers didn’t die. That had been the first and last truth he’d ever acknowledged. And maybe he felt happy when he felt the metal go through his skin, when he felt life leave him. Because he’d finally known for sure that he was a human. 

Xisuma had achieved what he’d always longed for.

But that happiness had soon dispersed. Firstly, because he realized that he was dying. Dying to Dream. But as he opened his eyes he didn't see Dream. He saw a lost human, his brother, Green, who looked into his eyes with a wide and terrified gaze. The gaze of someone who had lost their way. A gaze that wasn’t happy nor sad.

A gaze that soon turned panicked as it saw life leave Xisuma. “Wait,” Dream breathed out. “No no no, wait!” 

But Xisuma had never waited for Dream. And he wasn’t about to start now. So he let himself slip away, in the company of his brothers. Like he’d always been. And in his mind, he wished that he could have given them something better. He wished he could have been a brother to them. But that would mean putting them first, and he could never do that. He loved the humans too much. They needed him. And now he left them. He could only hope that Grian would protect them. He could only silently beg Dream not to take their other brother too. Let them fight each other, let them cry, let them scream and then make up. Let them make something better than what Xisuma could make. Because Xisuma was only human, and he had failed. But as long as his people would be okay, that was fine. This was better, anyway, than going back to the void.

He wished he could cry, but his body seemed to have stopped responding. That was alright. He’d had a long life, well technically his time in the void hadn’t been a life, but still. He'd been there for long and it was his time to rest. The Hermits would make it. They would go on. They would forget. And oh that scared him, but he knew that Grian would never forget, Grian would remind them. Grian would carry the burden he’d always had. Grian would do it all.

Xisuma had a feeling Grian would be much better at it. Because he knew love. He knew passion. And above all, he knew how it felt to take the wrong path. And even though Xisuma had those things too, he’d been stuck. Despite it all, he’d always been standing a bit outside of the human world. He was their protector, before anything, before he was one of them. But Grian could wholeheartedly be a human. He’d been since he first came to the Hermits. And he would never stop. His brother had grown to love human life as much as Xisuma himself. And even though he wouldn’t admit it to himself, so it seemed, had Dream. Despite all, Xisuma hoped he would figure it out. He hoped Dream would find happiness. Happiness and peace within himself. Xisuma should have found a way for all of them to leave the void, but he hadn’t. And Dream had paid the price. They had all paid it. This was the consequences of that. But maybe the brothers could live in peace again. They would never regain the closeness they once had, but he hoped for all of their sake that Grian and Dream found common ground.

Xisuma was sure that he left this world, his people, in good hands. In Grian’s and the Hermits’ hands. And how his death was going to affect the Watchers and the void he didn't know. But his time was out. It was time to go, to see the beyond, to meet Joe again. At last his heart stopped beating.

…

So why did he not move on?

His eyes were closed, his heart silent and his chest didn’t rise and fall anymore. But still he was somehow… there. Even if his heart had stilled, something still beat within him. Pulled him towards it. The beat of something infinite and ancient. The void.

His eyes opened on their own accord, or that’s what he thought, until he realized he didn’t have eyes. He didn’t have a body instead, the familiar presence of his spiritform emerged. He was Purple again. But he’d been human, he’d died. Right? So why was he still there? He looked around. The place looked vaguely familiar and fear gripped him. Or fear would have gripped him, but his feelings slowly numbed, it was like they ran out of him and slowly left him an empty shell. He was nothing. No one. Alone. But before long two trails of smoke darted into his line of sight. A red and a green smoke. But they were empty, void of the energy of his brothers. Void of life. And before his eyes they disappeared into thin air.

Was this the void? But he was dead, how could he be here.

Unless…

He had died, and the Watchers had died with him. They were meant to live forever, so what happened if they didn’t? Because after all: death was the only truly eternal thing there was. But what if the void was a part of death? What if it was the end? The magic that bound the Watchers to the void and the void to them had broken. Died with him. And what was left of his brothers’ magic had come rushing back, because they were still alive. And they were fully human. It was just their magic that seemed to have been destroyed when he died. Because the Watchers were one. If one was lost, then they all were. But it seemed he was the only Watcher left. He’d died a Watcher but the others would die as humans. When the human of him had died, his soul had gotten stuck on the wrong side. He was without heart, without mind and he was forever stuck in the void. But he still couldn't watch. Had the magic cut them off from the Earth and Mojang as well?

And his brothers. They would go on and live human lives. They would die at an old age and go where the rest of the humans went. They would move on. And Xisuma would be stuck there. 

Forever.

Sadness didn’t come, for he had lost his humanity. He had lost his heart. No emotions would ever come to him again.Like it was meant to be. And how he wished he could break down over this. But he couldn’t. The only thing he could do was get lost in his thoughts. 

When he found his way out of them again he would come to see how the void had changed, just as the Watchers it had been connected to. It had become a place. An actual, partly physical place. With yellow stone floating in the nothingness and great pillars of obsidian rising from the ground. Around the island the darkness pressed in. It was everywhere and all around, ready to devour anyone who tried to face it. Ready to drive them mad. But he couldn't go mad. For he already was, he was mad and sane and nothing and everything at once.

No, Purple hadn’t noticed the change yet, but he did notice when he himself started to transform. For he was the last Watcher and where he once had protected humanity, his sole task was now to protect the void and the magic that had been locked in it. So he needed to become a guardian. Where his purple spirit had been, a great creature took place. A creature as dark as the void itself with eyes that glowed purple like his had done through all times. When it roared it reached no ears. It wasn’t sure if it even made a sound in the first place. It’s sole purpose was to keep this place safe. And it would do so, from anyone who tried to enter. It would make no difference between enemy or friend, for Watchers didn’t have friends. And neither did dragons. And that was Purple's new form. And so it would be until it was freed.

The end never came to Purple, instead Purple came to the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Carefully peeks out from behind a curtain* is it safe to come out?  
> So... yes, sadness. My favorite. 
> 
> No but this chapter has been planned for a long time. I loved reading your comments last time (as always), it seemed like very few, if anyone, expected X to die. 
> 
> The next chapter will be up quite soon, but I have a few tests this week and I have been feeling a bit down so I won't stress all too much about it. But it's coming and it's going to have more hope in it than this does! (but you know, daily portion of angst is also important)
> 
> I really hope this wasn't too heavy, please tell me thoughts, theories and feedback if you have any <3  
> I love you, take care, stay safe and eat a cookie! (or whatever you like!)


	24. Hope Shining When the Night is Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the world of the living Dream and Grian deal with the aftermath of their fight. (summares are hard :D)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> It's been a few days! I have had tests and a minor crisis about my writing, (it was a hard chapter) but I'm back! And we have a sad chapter but slightly less sad than the last one (thank you for all your wonderfully kind comments, I am so happy. And many of you pointed out that Dream's job is literally to kill his brother, and I don't know how I didn't think of that, it's sad and hilarious at the same time)
> 
> (also it's late and I might have made a few errors, I tried to proof read to the best of my ability)
> 
> Enjoy <3

They had never been similar, never affectionate or easy to deal with. But what did that matter? They were family. And they stuck together because they had loved each other despite all their flaws. They had once fit together in a puzzle, understanding, because they were brothers. But those puzzle pieces had fallen apart. The world had made them jagged and uneven, until they no longer fit together. And yet they had tried for a while. Because you don’t just give up on family. But eventually they did. And Dream would argue that they had given up on him first.

This wasn’t his fault. It was theirs.

But no karma had ever come to them. They had founded a country. They had found people who loved them. Not despite their flaws, but because of them. It was all a big lie according to Dream. How could someone be loved because of their bad sides? It made no sense. It was a beautiful lie humans told their friends to make them feel better about themselves.

But when he himself went down to Mojang, this truth became uncertain. Because what were flaws in reality? Flaws were, like every other human concept, subjective. And one person's flaw was another's strength. So maybe it was all about finding the people who needed your flaws. Because every flaw had a strong point, just like every strength had a darker side. Strength and flaws weren’t randomly handed out, they were always two sides of the same coin, and everyone had a different opinion of which side was right. 

And apparently his brothers found his coins dark. 

This became his new truth.

But when he saw his brother's body hit the ground, when he scrambled to his side and begged him to wait, when he saw their brother, their Purple, glide away into a peaceful death, he started to doubt this truth. Maybe he only had dark coins after all.

That thought quickly left him though as the familiar anger crept back in. This wasn’t his fault, he reminded himself. They had started this. And that thought stayed as he looked up at Grian. As he met the terrified eyes of his brothers, shining with unshed tears and disbelief. This was their fault. Not his. It wasn’t his fault.

Then all thoughts left him as he felt it. With a powerful surge his magic was ripped out of him, and before his eyes he saw Grian’s eyes fade from glowing red to the matted auburn he’d seen in the Hermitlands so long ago. Their magic was gone. The beating of the void, gone. The Watchers were gone.

And Xisuma. Xisuma was gone with it all.

For a minute it was silent around them. For a minute the entire world felt silent. Like it paid its respect to the lost Watcher. And Dream couldn’t look away from his living brother’s paled eyes. And it seemed Grian couldn’t break the stare either. Dream was sure their faces carried the same expression. The fear. The uncertainty. The unableness of acknowledging the fact they were both seeing in the other's eyes.

The eyes of a human.

Dream knew what it meant. He knew what had happened even if he wasn’t sure how. But he didn’t want to think about it. The reality hovered at the outskirts of his mind, fighting to get in. But he wouldn’t accept it. He couldn’t. Everything he’d done. Everything he’d always been. What happened now?

Their magic was gone.

They weren’t Watchers anymore.

He heard Grian say something but the words didn’t register. He wasn’t a Watcher. What was he? Was he a human? No, that wasn’t possible. He’d fought so hard. This wasn’t how it ended. He couldn't see, couldn’t hear outside of the thoughts that overtook him. They held him like a prison and there was no way out. The stare of his brother pierced him, but Dream couldn’t bring himself to listen. To see. To resume the fight. Was the fight even done? It felt as if Dream was back in the void. The world was gone. There was only him. His mind. But it wasn’t possible, the void was gone now. Right? The beating next to his heart had ceased the moment Xisuma stopped breathing. And even though he’d hated it. Even though the void had haunted him, it was almost even more unsettling to feel its absence. When it had been there, so had his magic. It had kept him whole. Reminded him of who he was. Who was he now? What was he now? 

Was he mortal?

Everything was frozen. He didn’t know how much time had passed, he didn’t know anything until a hand on his shoulder carefully tried to pull him away. He registered someone walking past him. What was happening? Was the fight over? Was there even anything to fight for anymore? He had never intended that his brothers would die. How was it fair that Xisuma got the freedom of death and he got… humanity? Was death better?

“Dream, let’s go.”

It was probably safe to assume that the voice and the hand on his shoulder belonged to the same person. And though he could identify neither in his unnerved state it felt safe. Familiar. Like a frie-. No, an ally. A trusted ally.

Beneath his eyes a familiar object appeared. His mask. The mask he had created when he came to Mojang. To hide his eyes. To hide the fact that he wasn’t a human. Was it really needed anymore? His eyes were probably human as well. But for now it still had a use. To hide the fact that he wasn’t a Watcher. Even if the only person he needed to fool was himself, so be it. He wouldn’t accept anything until he saw his faded eyes. 

So he tied the mask around his face. And he was himself. He had to be. This was him. Watcher. Brother. Leader. Dream. He was collected, cunning and calm. He could make this. His thoughts could come later. So he looked up. And he saw Grian, sitting beside Xisuma’s body, only a few steps away. He was crying, hands clenched in Xisuma’s shirt. Beside him stood two of the Hermits, and just like Grian they cried. They looked broken. When had they gotten there? Together they lifted him off the ground and started to carry him back towards the other Hermits. Wait. They couldn’t just take him away. This was Dream’s revenge.

But as he went to protest he felt his knees bend beneath him. The person behind him dove forward to steady him. And Dream could do nothing but watch as he saw both of his brothers head away from him, Grian without so much as a glance, for what might very well be the last time.

Dream made sure to keep quiet when the tears came, hidden behind the safety of his mask. He had no reason to cry. Xisuma had been an awful brother. He had deserved worse than death. He certainly didn’t deserve Dream’s tears. Get it together.

His eyes went to the middle of the battlefield. There were two people there. The tears blurred his vision making it impossible to identify them, but he had a vague idea what they were discussing. Was the fight really over? He had defeated Xisuma, but Grian was still here. But on the other hand, what were they fighting for now? They couldn’t go to the void anymore. The world had lost its Watchers. He had never intended for any of them to die. And now they were seemingly mortal, the only thing left for them was death. And that wasn’t his revenge. So yes, maybe it was over. 

The Hermitlands and the Land of Dreams had nothing more to say to each other. The deal they had made before the fight still stood. No matter who won, the other side would leave them alone. They wouldn’t seek revenge. Because then it would never end. It would be an infinite circle of revenge and death, until endless war had consumed both of their nations.

He started to shake in the hold of the unfamiliar person. He had sought revenge. His brother had died. And yet the thing that he regretted wasn’t going after his brothers in the first place. It was failing to get them back to the void. Failing to get justice for what they had done to him. He regretted not giving Xisuma what he deserved, but granting him the freedom of death instead. 

So why did the other’s death still hurt? Why did he miss him? Why was his tears falling for the man who had ruined everything for him?

He attempted to push away the person who steadied him, but there was no force behind it. When he pushed again however, the person carefully let him go, to stand on his own legs. He turned to them and found Sapnap watching him with wary eyes. He looked hesitant. Like he wasn’t sure how to feel. And maybe Dream imagined it, but a small part of Sapnap looked frightened. For a moment they just stared at each other, and then Sapnap’s gaze snapped past him to look at the two people in the middle of the field, still talking. 

It was George. And the girl who’d stabbed him. Instinctively Dream reached for his axe, his magic, anything. But his axe was left on the ground, bloodied. And his magic was gone.

But the girl wasn't violent. She looked pale, fist clenched hard to hide the fact thhat her hands were shaking. And even though her head was held high, you could almost see all the sorrow that weighed her down. She was mourning. For a moment Dream was confused as to why they were talking, but then he realized. The leaders of the fight were unavailable. So they were finishing the battle. They were discussing terms. It was over.

He couldn’t shoot away the pain that thought caused. And even though some part of him hated himself for leaving his friends there, especially with the girl who’d almost cost one of them his life, Dream turned and walked past Sapnap, off the field. 

And just like Grian, he never looked back. There was nothing there to see anymore but death. The era of the Watchers had come to an end.

\---

A part of Grian had died. 

When Dream’s axe had gone through his Xisuma’s skin, Grian had felt as if it was him who was hurt. As if something had pierced his heart. And when his brother’s body fell to the ground and Grian saw a desperate look fill Dream’s eyes, he felt as if he had fallen alongside Xisuma. 

Something in him died in that moment. And not just the Watcher.

A piece of his heart had died with Xisuma. His brother. His teacher. His friend. Someone that had always been there for Grian. They had both known for a long time that they were aging in Mojang. That they had placed themselves under the curse of time. But for them it had been a blessing. They had finally been able to grow, to change, to learn. The world had always been theirs, but for the first time, they had been free. And they would make sure to cherish it.

But in all that happiness, it had never hit Grian that Xisuma could actually die. Grian had thought about his own death plenty. He wondered if it would ever come to him. Because someone so alive had to die sometime right? But Xisuma had always had one foot outside the human worlds. He’d always been their protector and not just their friend. And in Grian’s eyes he was timeless. He would always be there, he would always be able to help Grian and their people through whatever obstacle they may face. 

But as Grian had come to realize, far too quickly, Xisuma wasn’t a Watcher anymore than he himself was. He was a human. And humans made mistakes, humans lived and humans died.

But most importantly, humans loved.

And Grian knew that Xisuma had loved so many and so much. He had loved Grian, their people, but also everyone else. He had loved humanity. And everyone who met him could see it. He had been kind, warm and so happy. But he hadn't been just. And neither had Grian. But they never spoke about what they had done to their brother, if they could avoid it. Somewhere they hated themselves for it. But it was so much easier for them to turn the love they had for their third brother into anger and blame. Then they wouldn’t have to feel the pain. Dream’s pain that they had caused.

Grian thought it’d be easy to feel anger when Xisuma fell. But all he felt was numbness. And pain. He was pretty sure all three of them felt that pain right now. But he couldn’t care about Dream in that moment. He didn’t care about his friends who came up behind him to take Xisuma away from there. When he walked off the battlefield and into the forest towards the Hermitlands, he didn’t care about the battlefield he left behind. And when the other Hermits approached him he couldn't bring himself to answer their questions about whether he was hurt or wanted help. He only felt them take his hands and whisper words filled with pain and sorrow. He wished he could hear them, everyone was grieving, and he wanted to be able to grieve with them. But he couldn’t. All he could do was stare. 

And when False came back. When they all started to move through the forest with a painfully slow pace. Almost like they were walking through a dream. A nightmare. He followed without wondering what they left behind. Without wondering about his living brother. Once he’d followed Xisuma away from Dream to the Hermits. He’d always thought that had been the best choice he’d ever made. But if he hadn't done that, maybe Xisuma would be alive.

They set up camp in the glade where they had found Joe. It felt like so long ago. They needed rest, food and time. So just like when they had found Joe, everyone placed themselves around the glade and mourned in their own way. But they could all feel the emptiness. It went through them all. Like the colors of the world had been drained and left was nothing but a memory of what the world once looked like. A memory of what the Hermits once were.

But as one thing is lost, another is gained. 

Soon Grian yet again heard steps carefully approach him. He didn’t look up to see who it was when they sat down beside him. He didn’t have any comfort to offer. That had been Xisuma’s forte. But when the voice spoke up, after sitting in silence for a few minutes, he heard the words clear as day. And if his heart could break again, it would.

“I lost a brother to Dream too,” the voice mumbled. “It’s something we have in common.”

When Grian looked up he was faced with a boy and for a few seconds he found himself wondering who this stranger was. Then it hit him. It was one of the boys who had accompanied Wilbur Soot. He was from L’manburg. What was his name again? Grian had heard it, he knew it. 

“I’m sorry.” Grian didn’t know how he’d managed to speak, but the boy perked up slighly at his voice and he had to continue. “What was his name?”

“Tommy,” the boy, Tubbo, the boy’s name was Tubbo, said. “He would have done anything for us. He was probably too loud for his own good, but his heart was always in the right place. We did everything together.”

“How do you bear it?” The words were out before he could stop them, and normally he would berate himself for asking such a question to someone that young. But in this moment they weren’t anything other than two boys who had lost their brothers. And maybe that’s why Grian felt the need to continue speaking. “I feel like I’m dying, again and again.”

Tubbo was silent for a long time and when Grian looked at him he found the boy staring out into the glade. “Do you see that?” He pointed at something between the trees. “It’s a beehive.” Grian nodded, unsure of what the boy was trying to say. “When Tommy died, I think I died too. But first, I thought that the entirety of me died. That’s probably what you’re feeling now, but after a while, I realized that I still lived. A part of me was gone, but just because Tommy had died didn’t mean the effect he had on the world died. So now I try to see Tommy in the things I love. To remind myself that he is with me. Sometimes it doesn’t work, my memories and the pain are still fresh. But I still have to try. I love bees, and I have come to realize that Tommy is - was - a bit similar to them. He was annoying and free and went wherever he liked. He worked alone, but belonged to a bigger pack. I can’t really bear it. So I take some help from the world, to make it easier. But it doesn’t stop hurting, in a way though, I don’t want it to.”

Grian thinks he cried. 

“My brother loved bees too.”

It was all he could say. And at that, the boy looked at him and offered a small smile. It wasn’t really happy, but it could be hopeful.

“Do you want to tell me about him? And I can tell you about Tommy.”

And Grian looked at this boy, this boy who had lost a part of his family and still managed to smile, still managed to approach this complete stranger and try to help him move on, and Grian forced a smile as well. Just a little bit. Because maybe the boy had a point, maybe you could find your lost ones in new places. 

“That sounds good.”

And talk they did. They talked for a long time until day turned night. Sometimes they fell silent, but that was alright, because the conversation would return eventually, and after all, they were both grieving. Silence was something they needed as well. They had both lost, but maybe they weren’t as broken as Grian had first thought. Maybe they had lost a part of themselves, but like trees stood tall after a vicious storm, they would recover. And they would find new pillars to support them along the way. And maybe could Tubbo and Grian be each others’ pillar for a while. Because just like Grian could see Xisuma in Tubbo’s smile, in Tubbo’s love of bees and in Tubbo’s compassion, Tubbo could see Tommy in Grian’s mischievous ways and bright eyes. They could never replace what had been lost, but they could patch together some of each other's broken parts.

The silence had stretched on for a long time when Tubbo got up to locate Wilbur and Fundy. But before he left, Grian said one last thing.

“If you and your friends don’t have anywhere to go, you will always have a place among us. We too are people who were lost once, and maybe we can help you find your way. You could stay with us for as long or as short as you please.”

Tubbo looked back hesitantly. “Are you offering us a home?”

As one friend was lost another was gained and Grian smiled sadly, but with hope of a better day coming, as he said the words that had been uttered so many times. The words that Xisuma had once said to him. “Welcome to the Hermits, Tubbo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay wholesomeness, did I do it right?
> 
> I love Grian and Tubbo, and I might send contradicting signals considering I hurt them, but they deserve the world.
> 
> This chapter was supremely hard to write but it will get easier! I hope it wasn't confusing. Your comments really help me write this and I am so grateful to all of you. You motivate me so much. Thank you! 
> 
> Next chapter will feature a confused and anxious Dream. So until next time, please comment your thoughts, theories and feedback if you want to! It makes me very happy :D  
> Take care, and be safe, I'll see you next time!


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